Getting Started
![](https://alliance.seas.upenn.edu/~medesign/wiki/uploads/Nastran/image.jpg)
The main menu on the NX NASTRAN interface is the advanced simulation navigator. In this navigator, the user finds four levels of control over the model.
The first level presents the model itself as it was designed on the CAD system.
The second level is the first in which the user will start making changes for the FEA. This level idealizes the geometry of the original model, getting rid of design features that are not relevant to the analysis. A set of tools allows the user to manually get rid of small holes and/or blends that could generate mistakes on subsequent processes such as meshing, or to use an automatic geometry idealization tool.
The third level mainly controls the meshing process.
The fourth sets the boundary conditions for the problem.