Analyzing Degrees of Freedom

You can analyze if you need to set additional constraints to the components that make up a mechanical design.

Important: The degrees of freedom analysis is performed from engineering connections only. This means that constraints from a design in context or assembly pattern are not taken into account.

The analysis is performed from the active component and its child components set, but it is necessary to know that:

  • Selecting any sub-component of a child component returns the analysis of this child component relative to its active parent component only. If you want to analyze the sub-component relative to a child component, activate the child component beforehand.

  • Flexible child components (and their flexible sub-components) of the active component are not taken into account for the analysis. In this case, the analysis is performed from the first rigid sub-component found in the selection, under the active component.

Translations can be performed in a plane is represented by two vectors. These vectors define the translation plane but depending on the geometry, they may or may not constitute an orthonormal system. In other words, a planar translation which is normal to the plane that has the coordinates (x=0, y=1, z=0) can sometimes be represented by:

  • These two vectors:

    • vector 1: x=0, 707107, y=0, z=0,707107

    • vector 2: x=-0, 707107, y=0, z=-0, 707107

  • or by these:

    • vector 1: x=1, y=0, z=0

    • vector 2: x=-0, y=0, z=1

Before you begin: Open an assembly.
  1. From the standard area of the action bar, click Update .
  2. Right-click a component and select the component_name > Component Degrees of Freedom from the context menu.

    The Degrees of Freedom Analysis dialog box appears.

    • This dialog box displays all rotations and translations that remain possible for the selected component.

      In addition available rotations and translations are represented as buttons.

    • The geometry's rotations and translations are represented in yellow.
  3. Click one rotation button.

    The graphic element representing this possible rotation is now highlighted in the geometry for easy identification.



    As detailed in the dialog box, you can perform a rotation around the vector whose coordinates are x=1, y=0 and z=0 and using the point with coordinates x=0, y=-213.259 and z=112.55 as the rotation center.

  4. Click one translation button.

    The graphic element representing this possible rotation is now highlighted too.



    As detailed in the dialog box, you can perform a translation along the vector whose coordinates are x=1, y=0 and z=-0.

  5. Click Close to exit the command.