caexfer

Transfer finite-element meshes and results across formats.

caexfer reads and writes supported subsets of STL, SU2, UNV, Exodus II, VTU, legacy VTK, Gmsh MSH 4.1/2.2, Abaqus/CalculiX INP, CalculiX FRD, Nastran BDF, and Nastran OP2. It also reads PCH displacement results when given a matching mesh. Each conversion reports omissions and assumptions.

Get started

Requires Rust 1.86 or newer. Install the published CLI from crates.io:

cargo install caexfer
caexfer --formats

Add the published library to your Rust project:

cargo add caexfer

The CLI and library can perform the same conversions. This sequence carries nodal results from FRD through VTU to Gmsh MSH 2.2, then reads PCH results with a matching BDF mesh.

CLI

caexfer convert tests/fixtures/linear-results.frd results.vtu
caexfer convert results.vtu results.msh --msh-version 2.2
caexfer convert tests/fixtures/pch-multiple.pch displacements.vtu \
  --mesh tests/fixtures/pch-companion.bdf --subcase 1

Rust library

use caexfer::{MshVersion, Options, Result, convert, validate};

fn main() -> Result<()> {
    let source = validate("tests/fixtures/linear-results.frd", &Options::default())?;
    assert!(source.passed);
    let report = convert("tests/fixtures/linear-results.frd", "results.vtu",
                         &Options { accept_omissions: true, ..Options::default() })?;
    for notice in report.omissions {
        eprintln!("{}: {}", notice.stage.name(), notice.detail);
    }
    convert("results.vtu", "results.msh", &Options {
        msh_version: Some(MshVersion::V2_2),
        accept_omissions: true,
        ..Options::default()
    })?;
    convert("tests/fixtures/pch-multiple.pch", "displacements.vtu", &Options {
        mesh: Some("tests/fixtures/pch-companion.bdf".into()),
        subcase: Some(1),
        accept_omissions: true,
        ..Options::default()
    })?;
    Ok(())
}

convert lists reported losses and assumptions before asking for confirmation. For scripts, pass the specific --accept-... flags named in that list, or use --accept-all to accept every reported change.

Conversion routes

caexfer --formats lists the current readers and writers. Mesh sources can be converted when the destination supports their cell types and data. VTU, legacy VTK, MSH, and classic Exodus carry numeric fields within their documented subsets; FRD carries nodal fields. BDF, INP, STL, SU2, and UNV provide narrower geometry routes. MSH physical groups become named selections, and SU2 carries named boundary markers. OP2 and PCH displacement results require a companion mesh with original node IDs; OP2 can write a selected displacement table, while PCH is read-only.