How it works
Requirements → PRD validation → queued Octave analysis → reports and results. Here is what happens and what you see at every step.
Step 1
You create a project, pick a supported configuration and write your requirements in plain language.
A text box, the two supported configurations and a list of what MADETOOL needs (payload, mission, speeds, altitudes, limits, site).
Step 2
The website turns your text into a draft Product Requirements Document in MADETOOL's format. With an AI provider configured this uses AI; otherwise a rule-based extractor finds explicitly stated values. Either way, every extracted value must quote your text, and anything not stated stays TBD.
A structured, editable table per PRD section with value, unit, reference and attributes; badges showing where each value came from; a list of open questions and unsupported requests.
Step 3
You confirm or correct extracted values and fill the TBD items. Validation follows MADETOOL's own rules (mt_prd_validate) and the capability declarations of each solver module.
Errors, warnings and notes with the PRD key they refer to; the generated PRD text; a Design button that stays disabled until nothing blocks the run.
Step 4
A run is queued for your plan. A separate worker process starts GNU Octave 8.4 on MADETOOL's main.m with the run's own PRD, working folder and output folder. Runs have a time limit and can be cancelled.
Queued, running, completed or failed status with elapsed time and recent solver output. If the solver is not installed or the worker is offline, the site says so instead of queueing.
Step 5
The run page shows the solver status (OK, WARN, INCOMPLETE or FAIL), the stage table, validation and capability messages, the sizing outcome, the compliance summary, the DoD group and key design data.
The report text, the compliance table and download links for exactly the files the run produced - text report, CSV files and the MAT file - with the PRD checksum and timestamps.
Inside the solver
Read, validate and capability check stop the run on input errors. The sizing loop iterates geometry, aerodynamics, drag, propulsion, mission energy, energy storage, loads, structures, mass and stability until MTOW converges.
Engineering disclaimer. MADETOOL produces conceptual/preliminary design estimates. Results are not validated, certified, or flight-ready and do not replace detailed engineering analysis, testing, or certification. Read the full disclaimer.
