Beam Deflection Calculators - Please Select a Load Setting:

Use this selection of free beam deflection calculators to find out how much a system will bend under a specific load. All Tools work in metric, imperial and a mixture of the two. just add young's modulus, moment of area and some dimensions!

Single Point Load on Cantilever Beam Deflection Calculator

Single Point Load on Beam Supported at Both Ends Deflection Calculator

Evenly Distributed Load on Beam Supported at Both End Deflection Calculator

Evenly Distributed Load on Cantilever Beam Deflection Calculator

How to use these Beam Deflection Calculators

These calculators can come in very useful when specifying beam thickness and lengths when designing almost anything! Its important not to just assume the beam will be strong enough under normal, and extreme loads. All Beam Deflection Calculators will require you to know the length of the beam in question, the load applied to it and the moment of inertia, a value derived from the cross section of the beam (don't worry, were working on a calculator for that!). once you have these you then have to work out which load setting is most relevant. (most problems can be simplified to one of the above calculators, or at least be used to give an indication) Then you need to know the Young's Modulus, or modulus of elasticity of the material you plan to make the beam out of. this is where is often gets confusing, as reference materials quote young's modulus in various different units, and as soon as you start mixing units things go wrong! good news is, these calculators will convert all of the units before calculating the deflection of the beam! No more wondering if you're off by a factor of 1000!

What to do with your beam deflection calculators results and deflection limits:

When you have calculated your maximum deflection, it is important to know what it means. Depending on the application of your beam there are many guidelines as to was is and isn't acceptable deflection. For example, in structural engineering there will be standards that you will have to adhere to. A common figure given for maximum acceptable deflection in structural engineering is of in the order of the length of the beam divided by 360. It is really down to the engineer, standard and application to decide what is acceptable and what is not.