Predict. Print.
Break. Compare.
FEA Stress Analysis with SolidWorks 2025
Run a simulation. Print the part. Break it in the real world. Compare your prediction to what actually happened. Learn what every simulation gets right—and what it misses.
Crescent Valley High School · CTE Engineering · Self-paced
The Physics You Need
Stress, strain, Young's Modulus, yield strength, and the stress-strain curve. The vocabulary that makes everything else click.
What FEA Actually Does
The computer breaks your part into tiny pieces and solves for stress at each one. Here's the 7-step workflow.
SolidWorks Simulation Setup
Create a study, assign your custom FDM PLA material, apply fixtures and loads, mesh, and solve. Step by step.
Reading Results
Von Mises stress, displacement, and Factor of Safety plots. What the colors mean, what the numbers tell you.
Print the Specimen
Controlled, documented print on the Bambu Lab P1S. Every setting matters for a fair comparison.
Break It
Three-point bend test. Load it, measure it, break it. Calculate flexural stress from your physical data.
Compare
Predicted vs. actual. Percent error, source-of-error analysis, and the reflection that ties it all together.
The ABS Trap
Advanced. What happens when your material assumptions are wrong. The investigation that proves why engineers verify inputs.
Reference
Glossary
Every bolded term from the lesson, defined in one place.
Formula Sheet
All equations on one printable page.
Troubleshooting
Common SolidWorks Simulation errors and how to fix them.
Teacher Resources