Getting Started with ChainSolve: Building Your First Calculation Chain
A walkthrough of ChainSolve's core concepts, blocks, connections, and how to structure a real engineering calculation.
ChainSolve is built around a simple but powerful idea: engineering calculations are graphs, not lists.
In a traditional spreadsheet, you write formulas top to bottom. Cell A1 feeds B1, B1 feeds C1. This works until you need to reuse a calculation, share it with a colleague, or understand why a cell two hundred rows down has an unexpected value.
ChainSolve replaces this linear model with an explicit graph of calculation blocks, each block takes typed inputs, applies a formula or lookup, and outputs typed results. You wire blocks together to form a chain.
Why Graphs Beat Spreadsheets for Engineering
A graph model gives you several things that spreadsheets can’t:
Reusability. A block that calculates bolt shear stress can be used in a dozen different chains without copying and pasting formulas.
Traceability. Every value has an explicit path from input to output. There are no hidden dependencies.
Review. A colleague can read a chain like a document, each step is labelled, typed, and described.
Your First Chain: Beam Bending
Let’s calculate the maximum bending stress in a simply supported beam under a central point load.
The calculation has four steps:
- Inputs, beam length L, load F, cross-section dimensions b × h
- Moment, M = F × L / 4 (maximum moment at midspan)
- Section modulus, Z = b × h² / 6
- Bending stress, σ = M / Z
In ChainSolve, each of these becomes a block. The connections between them are explicit.