Flowchart · D3

From CAD part to stress plot

The structural pipeline, including the loop that sends you back to the log when a solve does not converge.

Start Engineer action Decision Result Refuses to guess 
flowchart LR
  S([Part from Onshape, STEP or STL]):::start --> M[Choose material]:::act
  M --> F{How are supports and loads placed?}:::dec
  F -->|quick| AX[Axis band: min end fixed, max end loaded]:::act
  F -->|precise| PK[Click real CAD faces or place round load patches]:::act
  AX --> PV[Preview node counts]:::act
  PK --> PV
  PV --> MS[Mesh with Gmsh]:::act
  MS --> SV[Solve with CalculiX]:::act
  SV --> LOG{Did the solver log converge?}:::dec
  LOG -->|yes| PNG[Rendered stress plot and saved example]:::res
  LOG -->|no| FIX[Read the log, fix supports, mesh or material]:::warn
  FIX --> MS
  classDef start fill:#ede9fe,stroke:#7c3aed,stroke-width:2px,color:#1e1b4b
  classDef act fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#2563eb,stroke-width:2px,color:#0f172a
  classDef dec fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#d97706,stroke-width:2px,color:#422006
  classDef res fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#16a34a,stroke-width:2px,color:#052e16
  classDef warn fill:#fee2e2,stroke:#dc2626,stroke-width:2px,color:#450a0a

Step by step

  1. Bring in a part from Onshape, STEP or STL and choose a material.
  2. Place supports and loads: the quick axis band, or real CAD faces and round load patches for precision.
  3. Preview node counts so a bad support or load is caught before solving.
  4. Mesh with Gmsh and solve with CalculiX, headless.
  5. Check the solver log. A converged run produces a rendered stress plot and a saved example. A failed run sends you back to fix supports, mesh or material based on what the log says.