Reference
Data and security
Your wheel CAD is your most valuable asset. LoudGears is designed so that your source geometry never leaves your workstation.
What stays on your workstation
ForgeNode keeps these on the workstation that runs the analysis:
- your CAD file (STEP, IGES or X_T);
- the analysis mesh built from it;
- the full 3D result fields (stress, displacement, safety factor at every surface point);
- the solver's working files and detailed logs.
Geometry reading, meshing, and solving all happen locally, on your GPU or CPU. Run results are stored in %LOCALAPPDATA%\LoudGears\ForgeNode.
What LoudGears stores in the cloud
To run your account and show your history, LoudGears stores:
| Data | Why |
|---|---|
| Account and workspace details, members, and devices | Sign-in, access control, and plan limits. |
| Project names, customer references, and revision history | The Workspace and project pages. |
| The geometry file name, and a fingerprint of the geometry | To identify revisions and apply the revision rate. The fingerprint cannot be turned back into geometry. |
| The bound vehicle and load case | To record exactly which loads each run used. |
| A signed numerical summary of each result | The verdict, peak and minimum values, solver quality, and hashes that prove the result has not changed. |
| Credit and billing records | Your balance, ledger, and invoices. Card payments are handled by Stripe. |
| Report records and workspace branding | The report library and your logo on reports. |
The cloud does not store your CAD file, your mesh, or your full 3D result fields.
How results are protected
- Signed results. Each result is signed by the workstation that produced it and checked by LoudGears before it is accepted. The result page shows its Result fingerprint and Run input fingerprint.
- Hash-checked 3D fields. When the result viewer loads the 3D fields from ForgeNode, it checks them against the hashes in the signed summary. If they do not match, they are not shown.
- Device identity. Each workstation has its own identity, created during setup. Only activated workstations of your workspace can run your analyses and report their progress.
- Local connection. The browser talks to ForgeNode only on the same workstation, and only after you allow local access and LoudGears issues a session for your account.
PDF reports
Reports are assembled in your browser from the verified result and downloaded directly. The report images are rendered on your workstation; they are not uploaded. LoudGears keeps a record that a report was generated.
LoudGears Design Advisor
The revision advice on the result page is computed in your browser from the 3D fields that ForgeNode keeps on the workstation. No geometry, mesh, field, or summary is sent to LoudGears or to any third-party service for it. See Read a result.
Good practice
- Verify the installer checksum before installing. See Install ForgeNode.
- Remove retired workstations under Manage your devices.
- Give each team member their own account with only the permissions they need.
- When you contact support, send the project and operation IDs rather than your CAD file.
- Report a suspected security issue to info@loudgears.com.