It is often said that "common sense is not that common" - so true in life and so true when it comes to engineering. Good, common-sense engineer-types are what industry needs. We should not chase a super accurate result when we do not know the accuracy of the loading, the material properties, or any of the other many inputs. Numerous approximate runs (or calculations) are to be preferred over one supposedly accurate run which stands entirely on its own without anything to compare with it.

We can apply common sense to our hand calculations. Given that these calculations are run in parallel to our FEA, then we have the safety and comfort of knowing that the hand calculation needs to be a ball-park solution and not some master piece in applied mechanics.

The same common-sense approach can be applied to our FEA work.

This webinar addressed:

• modern-day balance between hand calculations and FEA
• provide a number of "must-have" formulas for simple stress analysis
• summary of free-body diagrams to underpin stress analysis methods
• practical advice for the best use of FEA for realistic solutions
• constraint method that gives minimal support and worst-case stresses