CENTRE OF GRAVITY COMPUTATIONS IN PRO-E?

[Tristan Lall]

Originally Posted by OrthoDan

Pro-Mechanica is limited to static analysis, so whatever you might learn about impact in a simulation will be an approximation. The CMU tutorial posted by PTC_FRC has a nice example of building a beam-type finite element model that would be a reasonable approach for welded aluminum frames, which many FRC teams use. You need to be sure to place nodal points (at the ends of beam elements) at locations where you either want to constrain the structure or apply a load. For impact protection, avoid long unsupported spans of thin walled aluminum tubing. Cross-bracing will help avoid impact related permanent bending of your frame.

To expand a little on Dan's comments, one of the biggest problems with using FEA software isn't the software itself, but rather the user...it's very easy to get results that look convincing, but which are actually quite false. Sanity-check your results with simplified test cases, and seek out assistance if necessary, in order to set up the simulation correctly.