Run an analysis

This page covers starting an analysis from a project: choosing the route, attaching the geometry, and adding the run to the queue.

Before you start

• ForgeNode is running on this workstation and the workspace shows ForgeNode Connected. See Activate and connect.
• The project has a bound load case. See Vehicle loads.
• You have a STEP, IGES or X_T file of the wheel and analyses left on your plan.

1. Choose the analysis speed

Under Choose analysis speed, select a route. Both routes use the same 5 mm analysis mesh; mesh size and solver settings are managed by LoudGears.

A route card can show:

• Available: you can select it.
• GPU unavailable: this workstation has no usable GPU. Use CPU Standard.
• GPU check required: ForgeNode has not confirmed the GPU yet. Check CUDA / GPU on the ForgeNode dashboard.
• Route unavailable: the connected ForgeNode does not offer this route.

2. Attach the wheel geometry

Under Wheel design geometry, choose Choose geometry or drag a file onto the panel.

• Exactly one file per analysis.
• STEP (.step or .stp), IGES (.igs or .iges) or Parasolid X_T (.x_t or .xt), up to 50 MB. IGES and X_T appear in the file picker when your ForgeNode supports them. IGES and X_T import is in beta: STEP is the most reliable, and if a run of an IGES or X_T file fails, export the wheel as STEP from your CAD system and run it again.

Check that the file name and size shown are the ones you expect. The file is read by ForgeNode on this workstation; it is not uploaded to LoudGears. To use a different file, choose Replace geometry.

No wheel file at hand? Use Download the demo wheel under the geometry panel (also on the demo result): a one-piece STEP wheel of about 5 MB that meshes and solves in a few minutes, so you can try the whole run on your own workstation.

Exporting IGES

ForgeNode turns an IGES file into one solid on this workstation before the analysis starts; for a typical wheel this takes a few minutes. For the most reliable result:

• In the IGES export options, export solids rather than surfaces. Depending on the CAD system this is called Solid, MSBO or BREP (entity 186).
• Export only the wheel, as one body.
• Any length unit works (millimetres, inches, metres); ForgeNode reads the unit from the file.

A surface-only IGES is accepted when its surfaces close into a solid within 0.1 mm. IGES stores rounded surfaces such as tori as approximations, and exports often contain thin bands that do not mesh; ForgeNode repairs these automatically (it restores exact planes, cylinders, cones, spheres and tori, and exact lines and circles for edges, and rebuilds thin bands) without changing the wheel's volume by more than 0.1%. If a file still cannot be meshed, ForgeNode stops before the analysis and says so. When your CAD system can export STEP, use STEP.

Exporting X_T

ForgeNode rebuilds a Parasolid X_T file as one exact solid on this workstation before the analysis starts: it reads the analytic surfaces of the export (planes, cylinders, cones, spheres, tori and blends), rebuilds their exact intersections, and keeps the result only when it is a single closed solid that meshes. For a typical wheel this takes several minutes; ForgeNode stops after about 14 minutes, or about 19 minutes for a very large wheel body (more than 1,500 faces).

• Export text Parasolid (.x_t), not binary (.x_b).
• Export only the wheel, as one body.
• No Parasolid or CAD installation is needed on the workstation: ForgeNode reads X_T itself. An export written by a Parasolid version ForgeNode does not recognise is refused with its own message; export it again from a current CAD release, or export STEP. If X_T does not appear in the file picker, update ForgeNode.

If an export cannot be rebuilt as a closed solid, ForgeNode stops before the analysis and says so; no analysis is used. When your CAD system can export STEP, STEP remains the most direct route.

Front and rear wheels in one file

A file can hold both wheels of a staggered fitment side by side. ForgeNode recognises the pair while it prepares the file and splits it into one wheel each:

• The front wheel runs first, and the rear wheel is queued right behind it, in the same project and with the same load case.
• The run page shows both wheels' outer diameters and spoke counts, and whether the rear wheel is charged at half price or in full. See Rear-wheel discount.
• Two identical wheels give one run, charged once. The run page asks you to check that you exported the right file.
• An IGES or X_T pair is converted twice, so it takes longer. If the second wheel cannot be rebuilt, the file still runs as one wheel and the run page gives the reason.

Splitting needs ForgeNode 2026.10.05.1-beta or later. Older versions analyse only the larger wheel.

3. Choose the wheel material

In the run settings, under Wheel material, choose the alloy the wheel will be forged from. The solver uses that material's properties, and the verdict uses its pass rule.

Magnesium needs ForgeNode 2026.10.06.1-beta or later; on an older ForgeNode the option reads (update ForgeNode). See Wheel material for how the verdict, colour scale and advice change with the material.

4. Add the run to the queue

The bottom of the launcher shows the selected route and the connected workstation. Before you continue, check:

• the project and the wheel file,
• the vehicle and load case,
• the wheel material,
• the route,
• your remaining analyses (see Account & billing).

Then choose Add to FEA queue once. The button briefly shows Storing in ForgeNode…, and the run page opens.

If the button reads Enable local ForgeNode access or Retry local ForgeNode access instead, the browser cannot reach ForgeNode yet. See Allow local access.

If the button is disabled, one of these is missing: a selected file, a bound load case or saved manual override, an available route, a ForgeNode connection, or plan access.

What happens to credits

When the run is added, the credit for it is reserved. When the run finishes:

• a verified result (whether it passes or fails) consumes the credit;
• a run that stops without a verified result, because it was cancelled or failed, releases the credit back to your balance.

See Plans and credits.

The run page

The run page shows the Execution steps as the run moves through them:

Below the steps, Analysis updates shows live ForgeNode messages. When the result is verified, the run page switches to the result automatically. See Read a result.

Keep the workstation awake and ForgeNode running until the run finishes. You can keep working in other projects meanwhile.

When a run stops with an error

The page shows an Analysis diagnostic with the stage, a public error, and What to do next. Depending on the cause, it offers:

• Retry / continue run: resumes with the same stored file and load snapshot.
• Replace CAD file: the geometry could not be used; attach a corrected file.

A failed run releases its credit. See Troubleshooting for common causes.