When designing lattice structures, or even structures in general, standard profiles are often used. These are profiles of I, U, T, L, SHS, RHS, CHS, EHS shapes, etc. All the basic formulas for stiffness and strength calculations are known for standard used profile shapes. However, in established practice there are no approaches for simply optimization or for evaluating the stability of profiles. This paper deals with a detailed analysis of two SW tools for structural design of profiles, considering its stability and enabling shape optimization for the most efficient use of the material. Both previously mentioned tools are based on the theory of prof. Ashby but each of them is handled in a slightly different way. The first tool works with purely analytical formulas and enables profile evaluation and manual optimization. The second tool is based on analytical formulas, but uses numerical solvers and allows full profile optimization.
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