Still juggling simulations between two machines and a prayer? Scale up in minutes with Inductiva.
This tutorial will show you how to run CalculiX simulations using the Inductiva API.
We will cover the large stuctural test example from the official CalculiX website to help you get started with simulations.
Download the required files here and the simulation files will be placed inside the CalculiX/ccx_2.22/structest folder. Then, you’ll be ready to send your simulation to the Cloud.
Here is the code required to run a CalculiX simulation using the Inductiva API:
"""CalculiX example"""
import inductiva
# Instantiate machine group
cloud_machine = inductiva.resources.MachineGroup( \
provider="GCP",
machine_type="c2d-highcpu-4",
spot=True)
# Initialize the Simulator
calculix = inductiva.simulators.CalculiX( \
version="2.22")
# Run simulation with config files in the input directory
task = calculix.run( \
input_dir="/Path/to/structest",
sim_config_filename="contact2e.inp",
on=cloud_machine)
task.wait()
cloud_machine.terminate()
task.download_outputs()
task.print_summary()
In this basic example, we're using a cloud machine (c2d-highcpu-4) equipped with 4 virtual CPUs.
For larger or more compute-intensive simulations, consider adjusting the machine_type parameter to select
a machine with more virtual CPUs and increased memory capacity. You can explore the full range of available machines here.
Note: Setting
spot=Trueenables the use of spot machines, which are available at substantial discounts. However, your simulation may be interrupted if the cloud provider reclaims the machine.
To adapt this script for other CalculiX simulations, replace input_dir with the path to your CalculiX input files
and set the sim_config_filename accordingly.
When the simulation is complete, we terminate the machine, download the results and print a summary of the simulation as shown below.
Task status: Success
Timeline:
Waiting for Input at 12/08, 11:29:31 0.86 s
In Queue at 12/08, 11:29:32 42.632 s
Preparing to Compute at 12/08, 11:30:15 1.404 s
In Progress at 12/08, 11:30:16 353.357 s
└> 353.201 s ccx -i contact2e
Finalizing at 12/08, 11:36:09 0.514 s
Success at 12/08, 11:36:10
Data:
Size of zipped output: 1.41 MB
Size of unzipped output: 4.77 MB
Number of output files: 9
Total estimated cost (US$): 0.0123 US$
Estimated computation cost (US$): 0.0023 US$
Task orchestration fee (US$): 0.010 US$
Note: A per-run orchestration fee (0.010 US$) applies to tasks run from 01 Dec 2025, in addition to the computation costs.
Learn more about costs at: https://inductiva.ai/guides/how-it-works/basics/how-much-does-it-cost
As you can see in the "In Progress" line, the part of the timeline that represents the actual execution of the simulation, the core computation time of this simulation was 353 seconds (approximately 5 minutes and 53 seconds).