Beam Deflection Calculator Cantilever Point Load at End

A cantilever beam is fixed rigidly at one end and free at the other — think of a diving board, a balcony, or a bracket bolted to a wall at one end only. This calculator covers the classic case of a point load applied right at the free end, which produces the maximum possible deflection and bending moment for a given load on a cantilever of that length. The maximum deflection occurs at the free end itself, and the maximum bending stress occurs at the fixed support, where the beam is trying hardest to resist the load acting on the full length of the lever arm.

If your load isn't right at the tip but somewhere along the length instead, use our Cantilever Point Load (any position) calculator instead, which handles a load applied anywhere along the beam.

This calculator calculates the End Slopes, Support Reactions, Maximum Deflection and Maximum Stress in a cantilever beam with a point load at the end.

Enter your values as required and press SOLVE, your results will be displayed. If you change any unit types or values please press SOLVE again.

CLEAR ALL clears all fields.

CANTILEVER BEAM - POINT LOAD AT FREE END

MATERIAL: Aluminium 2024-T4Aluminium 6061-T6Aluminium 7075-T3BrassCast IronCopperLeadMagnesiumPhosphur BronzeStainless Steel, 304Stainless Steel, 316Steel, S235Steel, S275Steel, S355Steel, 4130Steel, ASTM A36Steel, ASTM A441Titanium, Grade 2Titanium, Grade 5

MOMENT OF INERTIA:

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TOTAL LENGTH: (L)

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DISTANCE TO NEUTRAL PLANE: (Z)

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POINT LOAD: (P)

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END SLOPE A: (A°)

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SUPPORT REACTION: (WA)

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MAXIMUM DEFLECTION: (y)

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MAXIMUM STRESS:

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RELATED PAGES

• Cantilever, Point Load (any position)
• Cantilever, Uniform Load
• Simply Supported, Centre Point Load

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where does the maximum stress occur on a cantilever with an end load?

At the fixed support, not at the load itself — the bending moment is greatest where the beam is built in, since that's where it has to resist the full leverage of the load acting over the beam's entire length.

How much does doubling the beam length affect deflection for the same end load?

Deflection for this case is proportional to length cubed, so doubling the length increases deflection by a factor of eight for the same load and cross-section — length has a very strong effect on cantilever deflection.