SWBPIPE · The open manual
Development guide1 November 2026

From a model to inspectable results

Start with a small piping model whose response you can explain. This walkthrough follows the current application from model entry to an inspectable result and a local export. It describes the 1 November source snapshot; it is not a record of a new application test or an available release.

An anchored line with a bend and a supported endA solid L-shaped centerline runs from an anchor to a support. A dashed line illustrates an exaggerated displaced shape. It is a schematic, not a calculated result.AnchorSupport
Solid: entered geometry. Dashed: illustrative movement, not a calculated shape. Displacement magnification changes the picture, not the numerical result.
  1. Enter the model and its sources. Choose project units, then enter nodes, members, materials, sections and supports. Run-sheet component rows, numbering reservations, bulk load-case fills, equal-part splitting and slope entry help with repetitive work. Component dimensions and centres of gravity can use separate compatible units. Read the proposed changes before applying them. The current model format is 0.9.0; earlier formats, including 0.8.0, require re-authoring. There is no automatic migration.
  2. Choose a supported calculation. A pressure-free model omits the pressure contract. Straight members default to Euler–Bernoulli and offer opt-in Timoshenko. Exact-pressure authoring has its own section bases and defaults to Timoshenko. Realized arcs remain Euler–Bernoulli. Keep the selected route visible when interpreting results.
  3. Check the restraints and loading. Run the model checks, inspect the identified geometry or input problems, and review each load case. Support directions are global; a drawn guide does not establish pipe-relative restraint. Spring installed loads are not applied as preload. Solve a combined nonlinear loading as its own case; subtracting two solved states does not create a new equilibrium.
  4. Solve and read the diagnostics first. The progress panel shows the job state and allows cancellation. A completed solve still needs its numerical-health and coverage notices read. Results larger than 64 MiB are refused before display; a completed calculation does not establish a displayable result. Inspect the largest translations and rotations before stresses. A large or implausible motion can expose missing restraint or a modeling mistake.
  5. Inspect one case, then compare. Use the results navigator, deflected shape and undeformed ghost to understand the response. Display local-axis triads and check each table’s frame and units. Follow a high value from the contour into its rows; check support loads, displacement extremes and the sorted stress/ratio table. Review weight and centre of gravity for missing or double-counted loads. A contour, maximum or user-rule ratio is limited by the quantities and coverage it actually represents.
  6. Save an inspectable result. Save the local project and, when useful, a named state. Compare states or runs with their sources visible. Export table CSV for the current filters; paginated tables include the admitted rows across pages. Eligible current results on both routes can produce local-private reports and packages. CSV tables are separate from model interchange and from the unfinished shareable-report workflow.
  7. Understand recovery. Check autosave settings and status. A recovery offer concerns a stored model record; compare it with your intended project state before continuing. Explicit saving and unsaved-change prompts remain part of the workflow. Autosave does not establish preservation of every session action.

Working with the embedded agent

The conversation panel and supported model-operation tools are implemented in this development snapshot. The agent can inspect supported model information and propose changes. Review the proposed batch, its current model basis and the actual outcome before continuing; a proposal is not an applied change.

You supply engineering inputs and explicitly apply changes. The agent cannot enter bend or tee flexibility factors, SIFs or component stiffness modifiers, or realize a bend. Enter those values and their sources yourself. A geometry-only bend marker is not a realized curved element.

The full reference-system build/solve/explain journey and native qualification remain open. Research through the Engineering Reader and user-added documents is not connected. See the agent’s scope.

For complete route restrictions, read the status account. For evidence examples, read the new reference families. The model inputs, rule criteria and engineering decision remain the user’s responsibility.

Source: run sheet, result views, CSV scope, autosave.