Sketch FEA Support

What is Sketch FEA?

Sketch FEA is an educational tool for learning finite element analysis (FEA) and the mechanics of materials from simple sketches. Draw a part and its holes, hold it and load it, heat or cool it, and pick a material. Then see its displacement, stress and temperature in two dimensions, how it vibrates, when it buckles, and how it breaks. It runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS or iPadOS 16.4 or later, in English.

Which analyses does it have?

Static stress, heat (steady and over time), thermal stress, vibration modes, shaking (harmonic response), dynamics over time, buckling, and breakage. Each works on a plate of a set thickness (plane stress) and on a slice of a long part (plane strain); all but buckling also work on a round part (axisymmetric).

What is free, and what does Sketch FEA Pro add?

Free: open, run and explore every built-in example in every analysis, and draw your own outline and holes in a bar of steel or aluminum, fixed at one end and loaded at the other, in static stress at the Coarse or Medium mesh. Projects, files, units and the help are free too. Sketch FEA Pro adds:

• every support and load: pins, rollers, symmetry, set displacements, forces and pressures, and probes;
• every material, and your own materials;
• heat, thermal stress, vibration, shaking, dynamics over time, buckling and breakage;
• plane strain and axisymmetric models, and loads on the whole part;
• Fine meshes;
• editing the examples;
• reports.

How much does Sketch FEA Pro cost?

In the United States, US$4.99 per month with a 7-day free trial, or US$49.99 per year with a 14-day free trial. Prices differ in other countries, and the free trial is for eligible accounts only. The app shows the price for your country before you confirm.

How do I turn on Sketch FEA Pro on another iPhone or iPad?

Sign in with the same Apple Account, open Menu > Sketch FEA Pro, and tap Restore purchases. Restore purchases is also in Menu > About Sketch FEA.

How do I cancel?

Open Settings > your name > Subscriptions > Sketch FEA Pro, and cancel. Subscribers can also use Manage subscription in Menu > About Sketch FEA. To avoid the next charge, cancel at least 24 hours before the free trial or the current period ends. Deleting the app does not cancel the subscription.

How do I get a refund?

Apple handles all payments, so refunds are requested from Apple at https://reportaproblem.apple.com. We cannot issue refunds.

What happens when my subscription ends?

Nothing you made is deleted. All your sketches and projects still open and run. Changing a design beyond the free features needs Sketch FEA Pro again.

The app says the subscription could not be checked.

Connect to the internet and try again. Sketch FEA Pro stays active without a connection, and a failed check never turns it off.

Where are my projects stored, and how do I move them to another device?

Projects are saved on your device and are included in iCloud or computer backups of the device. They are not shown in the Files app, and deleting the app deletes them. To keep a copy or move a project, use Menu > Projects and files > Save as a file. It saves a Sketch FEA file (.sketchfea.json) to Files, Mail, AirDrop, or another place you choose. On the other device, open that file with Sketch FEA from Files or Mail, or use Menu > Open a file.

How do I delete my data?

Delete sketches and projects in Menu > Projects and files, or delete the app to remove everything stored in it. The app never uploads your sketches or pictures. The Privacy Policy says how to ask us to delete any other information.

Does Sketch FEA work offline?

Yes. Drawing and the calculation run on your device and work without a connection. Buying and restoring a subscription need a connection.

Can I use inches and pounds?

Yes. Setup > View > Units switches every value you type and read, the probes, the charts and the report between SI (mm, N, MPa, °C) and US customary units (in, lbf, psi, °F). Files always store SI, so a sketch reads the same in either.

Where do the material values come from?

From published sources, each named in the app’s material list (Setup > Materials). They are typical room-temperature values; real parts vary with the grade, the supplier and the manufacturing process, 3D-printed parts especially. A value with no checked source shows as “not set”. You can copy a material and enter your own values.

Why does the stress at a sharp corner keep rising when I choose a finer mesh?

At a sharp inside corner, at the end of a support, and under a point load or a point support, the stress is not finite in theory, so the value there depends on the mesh. Read the stress a little away from such points, or round the corner.

Can I draw with Apple Pencil?

Yes. Once you use Apple Pencil, only Apple Pencil draws, and your fingers pan and zoom. To draw with a finger again, turn off Menu > Draw with Apple Pencil only.

How accurate are the results?

Sketch FEA is for education and learning only. Its results are estimates from a simplified two-dimensional model, verified against published exact solutions and benchmark cases but not validated against measurements or tested in real-world scenarios. Do not use them to design, rate, or approve any real part, or for safety, medical, engineering, or compliance decisions. You use them at your own risk; to the extent the law allows, Journey On is not responsible for decisions based on them. The Sketch FEA Terms of Use list the model’s limits and the benchmark cases.

What does the app do with my information?

Your sketches, pictures, and results stay on your device; the app never uploads them. The app has no account and no ads, and it does not track you. The Privacy Policy has the details.