Getting Started with FERS
From your first model in the web app (no coding required) to the FERS Python package (fers_core) and API
Your first model in the browser
No coding required — everything happens in the web app
The fastest way to get a feel for FERS is to open an example: from the home page, pick Simple Shed or Solar Rail and press Calculate. To build your own model, work through the Data Workspace tabs in this order:
- Materials — E-modulus, density, yield stress (e.g. S235 steel).
- Sections — cross-section properties (area, Iy, Iz), each referencing a material.
- Nodes — the X, Y, Z coordinates of your structure's joints.
- Nodal Supports — boundary conditions (a pinned support fixes Ux/Uy/Uz, leaves rotations free), then assign them to nodes in the Nodes tab.
- Members — connect two nodes with a section.
- Load Cases & Loads — create a load case (e.g. “Permanent”), then add nodal, distributed or surface loads to it. Directions are in global X/Y/Z (0, −1, 0 = straight down; Y is up). See conventions & units for the axis and sign conventions.
- Calculate — run the analysis from the top bar, then read displacements, force diagrams and reactions in the Results tabs and the viewport.
Tip: the welcome tour walks through the interface — replay it anytime via Help (?) → “Show welcome tour”. Your model can be exported as JSON (Download menu) at any time; saved cloud storage is part of the Pro plan.
Getting Help
Resources for troubleshooting and support