Getting started

The Sandbox is where RiggingSense starts: a beam or truss, two supports or hoists, and a load you can drag. Everything else in the tool builds on what you see here.

Quick start

1. Open RiggingSense from the dashboard. Read the disclaimer and press Got it — it collapses to a slim strip that stays visible.
2. In the Sandbox tab, choose Truss & hoists.
3. Set the Beam length (m) and the Support A / Support B inset — how far each hoist sits in from the ends.
4. Leave Loads on 1 point load, type a Weight (kg) and a Position (m).
5. Drag the load along the truss in the diagram. Hoist 1 load and Hoist 2 load move as you go; the closer hoist carries more.
6. Drag the load past Hoist 2. The UPLIFT — unstable! warning appears and explains why: a chain can only pull, so the far hoist goes slack and the truss is free to rotate.
7. Press Show the math to see the lever rule solved with your numbers.

The tabs

• Sandbox — three sub-modes: Beam (supports on the ground), Truss & hoists (hoists overhead, plus chain weight) and Overhang (a load beyond a support). Load modes: 1 point load, 2 point loads or Distributed (UDL).
• Bridles — two-leg bridle geometry and tensions. See Bridles.
• Safety factors — MBS, safety factor and WLL, and what D8, D8+ and C1 mean. See Training and safety factors.
• Training — the estimate-then-check quiz. See Training and safety factors.
• Saved — your named scenarios.

Top right: the Unit selector (kg, kN or lb), an ⓘ on units, and the Glossary. Underlined terms anywhere in the tool open their entry.

Reading the sandbox

• Self-weight. Truss self-weight adds the truss as a full-span distributed load — Off, one of three illustrative presets (light-duty ~5 kg/m, standard 30 cm ~7.5 kg/m, heavy-duty 40 cm ~11 kg/m) or Custom kg/m. Chain weight per hoist (kg) adds the chain hanging under each motor.
• Check line. R_A + R_B = ΣW (or hoist loads − chain = ΣW) confirms equilibrium.
• Skew warning. One hoist carries X % of the load — heavily uneven. It appears when one hoist takes roughly two-thirds or more; the heavy hoist reaches its WLL first while the other runs light.
• Keyboard. With the load handle focused, the arrow keys move it 0.1 m; hold Shift for 1 m steps. The numeric fields do the same.

Save, share, print

Under the diagram: Save scenario stores the setup under a name in the Saved tab, Copy link puts the whole scenario into a URL a colleague can open, and Print opens a clean page with the diagram, inputs and the full working. Scenarios and quiz progress sync with your account.

Next

• Bridles — why a flat bridle is dangerous.
• Training and safety factors — quiz yourself, and check a WLL against the sandbox.