In general terms the user will be required to analyse a particular structure or component under one or more loading conditions. The following is a list of SOME of the things that need to be considered.

Is there any symmetry in the structure? Can this be used to reduce the size of the final model? What boundary conditions will be applied to the plane of symmetry?

Can the structure be modelled reliably using a two dimensional mesh or an axisymmetric mesh or is a three dimensional model required?

How does the analysis package require the model to be oriented? Most finite element codes require the radial and axial directions of the model to correspond to specific global axis directions. Check this before starting!

Beam, plate/shell and/or brick?

What order of elements are to be used? i.e. corner nodes only or mid-side nodes as well? (This is controlled by the FEMGEN element type.)

What specific elements are to be used in the analysis? (This is controlled by the element name used in FEMGEN, but is only used when the finite element data file is created..)

How is the model to be created? Can copy or sweep be used? At what stage can a trial mesh (2D or 3D) be created?

As real engineering structures are rarely simple, how much detail is necessary?

Are there any known limitations on the model size or complexity, such as number of nodes or elements for the finite element model? Is disk space unlimited?

What analysis code is to be used and what advantages/limitations does this have?

All the above are items which may affect the way FEMGV is used and decisions will have to be made as modelling progresses. However time spent planning the modelling is often very well spent as it can reduce the time actually spent modelling.