Quote:
Originally Posted by Munchskull
Any one have a SolidWorks tutorial that shows how to use the FEA accurately for tubing and gear box loading?
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http://www.solidworks.com/sw/product...y-analysis.htm
That's the page for SolidWorks' information about doing simulations on entire assemblies. Theoretically, the way to get the most accurate FEA data is to create your entire assembly (fasteners, sheet metal features, chains, belts, weldments, the whole nine yards) and then run your simulation on the whole thing. However, in my experience, that's more trouble than it's worth, especially in a 6-week timeframe. What I do these days is just take it one critical part at a time, like the main drive rails or the gearbox plates and just place constraints and loads as best I can. For that, I run lots of different simulations, including drop test, static, and cyclic simulations. For me, running 10 (maybe not actually 10, but it's a nice number) simulations on each critical component is easier and more accurate than running one giant simulation on the whole assembly, especially while I'm still designing. Granted, I'm not the most familiar with FEA yet, so take my advice with a grain of salt.
Oh, and remember that accurate FEA data and inaccurate FEA data often look very similar, and it can be difficult to get all of your constants and constraints and loads just right.