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EDWartens UK

Free course · CAD

FEA for Mechanical Engineers: Ansys Student and FreeCAD

How a mechanical engineer sets up, runs and checks a finite element analysis: the stiffness method, elements and degrees of freedom, geometry idealisation, meshing, supports and loads, static stress, mesh convergence and stress concentration, contacts and bolted joints, modal, thermal, buckling and fatigue, in Ansys Mechanical (the free Ansys Student edition) and the FreeCAD FEM workbench with CalculiX, with every result checked against a hand calculation.

See the modules

Free to learn. Verifiable certificate £19 when you pass the final exam (optional, VAT included).

Level
Intermediate
Modules
15
Video
23 hours
Price
Free

Outcome

What you will be able to do

Explain how the finite element method turns a part into a stiffness matrix and solve a small spring and bar model by hand; set up Ansys Student and the FreeCAD FEM workbench and run a first static analysis; choose solid, shell, beam or 2D idealisations; mesh with the right element size and order; apply supports, loads and symmetry without over- or under-constraining; read deformation, von Mises and principal stress and compare them with beam theory; run a mesh convergence study and tell a real stress concentration from a singularity; model bonded, frictional and bolted connections; find natural frequencies, thermal stresses and linear buckling loads; make a first fatigue estimate with an S-N curve and the Goodman line; and verify, validate and report a study so a checker can trust it.

  • Assemble and solve a spring or bar stiffness model by hand, and count degrees of freedom
  • Run static analyses in Ansys Student and in FreeCAD with CalculiX
  • Choose solid, shell, beam or 2D idealisations and mesh with quadratic elements
  • Apply supports, loads and symmetry, and check reactions and the deformed shape
  • Read von Mises and principal stress and verify them against beam theory
  • Run a mesh convergence study and separate a real Kt from a singularity
  • Model contacts and bolt preload, and find frequencies, thermal stress and buckling loads
  • Make a Goodman fatigue estimate and write a verified, validated FEA report

Software

Ansys Student 2026 R1 for the Ansys modules: free for learning, Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) only, structural models up to 128K nodes or elements, educational use only. FreeCAD 1.1 with its FEM workbench and the bundled CalculiX solver for the open-source route: free for any use on Windows, macOS and Linux. A spreadsheet for hand calculations. On a Mac or Linux machine FreeCAD alone covers every exercise.

Hardware

A 64-bit computer with a mouse. Ansys Student needs Windows 10 or 11, at least 4 GB of RAM (more makes meshing and solving faster), about 50 GB of free disk and an OpenGL-capable graphics card. FreeCAD runs on more modest machines.

Syllabus

15 modules

Each module has video lessons, notes and a short quiz. The final exam closes the course.

  1. 1What finite element analysis is and when to use it3 lessons
  2. 2Stiffness, elements and degrees of freedom: the method by hand3 lessons
  3. 3Ansys Student, Workbench and a first static analysis4 lessons
  4. 4Idealisation: solids, shells, beams and 2D models4 lessons
  5. 5Meshing: element size, shape, order and quality4 lessons
  6. 6Boundary conditions, loads and symmetry5 lessons
  7. 7Static structural results: stress measures and checking them5 lessons
  8. 8Accuracy: mesh convergence, singularities and stress concentration5 lessons
  9. 9Contacts, assemblies and bolted joints5 lessons
  10. 10Modal analysis: natural frequencies and mode shapes7 lessons
  11. 11Thermal analysis and thermal stress4 lessons
  12. 12Linear buckling5 lessons
  13. 13Fatigue: a first estimate from FEA stresses5 lessons
  14. 14FreeCAD FEM with CalculiX, verification and the analysis report5 lessons
  15. 15Final assessment1 lesson

How it works

How this course works

  1. Watch the video lessonsOne module at a time, at your own pace.
  2. Take the module quizA short quiz at the end of each module shows what stuck.
  3. Keep your notesWrite in My notes beside each module and ask the trainer if you are stuck.
  4. Sit the final examPass it once you have been through the modules.
  5. Certificate, if you want oneOptionalPaid, and only after you pass. Anyone can check it online.

Certificate

An optional certificate when you pass

Learning is free. Pass the final exam and you can have a certificate for £19, including VAT, with a number employers can check online. It records that you completed a free online course; it is not a regulated qualification or a CPD certificate.

  • Your name, the course, its study time and your final exam score
  • A unique certificate number and a QR code to its verification page
  • Issued by Wartens Ltd; add it to your LinkedIn profile in one click
  • Pay now or after you pass: it is issued the moment you pass the final

How the certificate works

Sample certificate for FEA for Mechanical Engineers: Ansys Student and FreeCAD

Credits

Who made the lessons

The video lessons belong to their creators. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, quizzes and the final exam.

  • Ansys Learning

    the Ansys Innovation Course lessons: the Workbench and Mechanical interfaces, thin and slender structures, element size and element order, supports, constraint, symmetry, forces and pressures, inertial loads, artificially high stress, adaptive convergence, surface coating, submodelling, connecting parts and contact, frictional contact, preloaded bolted joints, the modal analysis course, heat transfer and thermal-stress linking, structural instabilities and buckling, and verifying and validating model setup

  • Ansys How To

    meshing best practices for Ansys Student, thermo-structural analysis in Ansys Mechanical, and fatigue analysis of a Formula SAE hub

  • The Efficient Engineer

    understanding the finite element method, stresses in beams, failure theories, buckling, and fatigue failure and S-N curves

  • Unpopular Mechanics

    what finite element analysis is, explained for beginners (also the final recap)

  • Structures with Prof. H

    the FEA using ANSYS lessons on getting started, plane stress and 2D analysis, truss analysis, and mesh refinement

  • Postcard Professor

    the theory and a worked example of the 1D spring element and its stiffness matrix

  • Jousef Murad | Deep Dive

    a beginner's guide to the finite element method

  • DrDalyO

    an introduction to a static structural analysis in Ansys Workbench

  • Not Real Engineering

    a static structural walk-through in Ansys Workbench

  • cornellsimulation

    Cornell SimCafe's hand calculations for checking a beam model in Ansys

  • Meshing4u

    comparing Ansys results with hand calculations

  • Less Boring Lectures

    stress concentration factors and factor of safety, fatigue failure criteria, and fatigue stress concentrations

  • The Design Engineer

    a fatigue analysis in Ansys Workbench

  • MangoJelly Solutions for FreeCAD

    the FreeCAD FEM workbench basics

  • MEC 3D

    a FreeCAD FEM analysis from solid to results in seven steps

  • Computerized Engineering

    an FEA study in FreeCAD with a mesh independence check

  • Learn Engineering

    a cantilever beam frequency analysis in the FreeCAD FEM workbench

Questions

About this course

What is finite element analysis (FEA)?
Finite element analysis is a computer method that predicts how a part deflects, how it is stressed, how it vibrates, how hot it gets and when it buckles, by splitting it into small elements joined at nodes and solving the stiffness equations for the nodal displacements. Engineers use it to size and check parts before they are made, and always check its results against hand calculations.
Who is this FEA course for, and what do I need to know first?
It is for mechanical, production and aerospace graduates and diploma holders, design engineers and CAD users who want to run stress analysis and trust the answer. You need strength of materials (stress, strain, beam bending and Euler buckling) and basic 3D CAD; no previous FEA experience is needed.
Which software does the course use, and does it work on a Mac?
The course uses Ansys Student 2026 R1, the free learning edition of Ansys Mechanical, and the FreeCAD FEM workbench with the CalculiX solver. Ansys Student runs only on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11 and is limited to 128K nodes or elements for structural models; FreeCAD is free and open source on Windows, macOS and Linux and covers every exercise on a Mac.
Is this an Ansys certification or official Ansys training?
No. This is an EDWartens course that teaches finite element analysis using Ansys Student and FreeCAD; it is not Ansys training, it is not affiliated with Ansys or Synopsys, and it does not award an Ansys certification. Ansys runs its own free Ansys Innovation Courses, several of whose lessons are embedded here with credit.
Is the course free to learn, and how long does it take?
Yes, every module, the notes, the worked problems, the practice tasks, the optional project and the final assessment are free to learn. The course takes about 23 hours at your own pace, of which about 14 hours is video; the optional bracket project takes about 16 hours more.
What certificate do I get, and how is it verified?
You get a verifiable certificate of completion when you finish the modules and pass the 15-question final at 60 percent. It carries a unique certificate number and a QR code that open a public verification page showing the course, the modules covered and your final score. It is a certificate of completion, not a vendor credential.
Which standards and methods does the course follow?
No single standard governs FEA, so the course teaches the verification and validation practice set out in guides such as ASME V&V 10 and the NAFEMS how-to literature: hand checks, mesh convergence, reaction checks and validation against tests. It uses ISO 898-1 bolt property classes for the bolted joint work and textbook methods (Euler, Peterson-type stress concentration factors, Goodman) for the hand checks.
What jobs does FEA lead to?
It prepares you for roles such as FEA engineer, CAE analyst, design engineer with simulation duties, and stress engineer in machinery, automotive, aerospace, pressure equipment and process skid companies, including the engineering contractors that serve oil, gas and process plants in the Gulf. Employers look for exactly what the course builds: converged models, hand checks and a clear report.

The Professional Module is five live days of Siemens PLC, HMI and SCADA with an instructor, then a resume session and a CPD certificate.

See the Professional Module