Design NexTimber Glulam Beams and Columns to AS 1720.1

ASH MASSLAM glulam is integrated in SPEC Toolbox for design to AS 1720.1. Four grades are live in the platform database: MASSLAM SL33 and SL35 on widths of 65 to 140 mm, and MASSLAM 38 and MASSLAM 45 on widths of 120 to 450 mm, with depths from 120 mm to 1250 mm. Laminations are Plantation Oak and Australian Oak from the Heyfield factory in Victoria. The member design modules read the integrated section and grade set directly.

Australian Sustainable Hardwoods (ASH) makes the MASSLAM range at Heyfield in Victoria, has produced glue laminated timber since 1996, and now runs more than 100 cubic metres a day. ASH processes its own Plantation Oak, Australian Oak and Glacial Oak feedstock across two Heyfield sites, from log to finished component.

NexTimber is Timberlink’s engineered wood products brand, manufacturing cross laminated timber and glued laminated timber in Australia. The glulam is made at Tarpeena in South Australia from Australian plantation radiata pine.

One grade is integrated: NX GL13. Members are built up from 42 mm lamellae, and every integrated depth is a whole multiple of that lamella thickness, from three lamellae at 126 mm to fifteen at 630 mm.

The integrated range covers four widths, 65, 85, 115 and 135 mm, against thirteen depths: 126, 168, 210, 252, 294, 336, 378, 420, 462, 504, 546, 588 and 630 mm. Any depth can be combined with any width, giving 52 standard sections. Maximum length is 12 m for both production and transport. Block gluing is not offered, and CNC machining is not carried out by the supplier.

All NexTimber glulam is bonded with a heat resistant melamine formaldehyde adhesive, a thermoset used across the whole range. Members are available straight or cambered. Chain of custody is certified to both FSC and PEFC, and an environmental product declaration is published for the range.

Beams and columns. Straight or cambered members, with the shape forming part of the member designation. A single grade, NX GL13, applies across the whole section range, so the grade does not change with section size. Members are supplied cut to length up to 12 m.

• One grade across every section. NX GL13 is the only integrated grade and it applies to all four widths and all thirteen depths, so grade availability does not have to be checked section by section.
• Depths follow the lamella module exactly. Every integrated depth is a whole multiple of the 42 mm lamella, running from three lamellae at 126 mm to fifteen at 630 mm, so depth and lamella count are directly interchangeable when checking a member.
• Deep sections on narrow widths. Depths reach 630 mm while widths stay between 65 and 135 mm, so the range is weighted towards slender, deep members. These depths are reached without block gluing.
• Single mill, Australian plantation supply. Every integrated section is produced at Tarpeena in South Australia from Australian plantation radiata pine, supported by a locally based technical team.

NexTimber glulam appears across the member design modules: Timber beam, Timber column, Member design and Beam penetration. It also appears in the connection modules: the screw connection module, and the CLT floor to glulam beam connection.

Member behaviour is taken from the integrated database, using the characteristic values held there for NX GL13.

The same database values are used for design to the Australian and New Zealand standards.

Fire design, vibration and other verifications not covered by AS 1720.1 can be checked against AS 1720.4 and other relevant documentation.

Design of NexTimber glulam follows AS 1720.1, and NZS AS 1720.1:2022 in New Zealand. NX GL13 is a GL13 glulam grade, and the characteristic values used in design are those held for that grade in the integrated database. Members are manufactured as glued laminated structural timber to AS/NZS 1328. NexTimber glulam is not placed on the European market under a harmonized standard, so no European Technical Assessment and no CE marking apply, and it is not covered by a US evaluation report. Fire resistance of structural members can be checked to AS 1720.4.