About the Mechanism Manager

The Mechanism Manager lets you:

• Activate specific engineering connections in a mechanism.
• Define the commands that drive the mechanism.
• Track the degrees of freedom (DOF) in a mechanism.
• Verify the simulation status of the mechanism.

The Mechanism Manager dialog box includes two tabs and an information area.

Joints tab	Lets you specify which joints to enforce in the mechanism.
Assembly tab	Lets you specify which mechanisms are to be assembled.
Status area	Provides information on the current degrees of freedom and the number of commands. Specifies if interdependent commands exist for the mechanism.

To configure a mechanism, you need to specify which engineering connections from the associated product to enforce in the mechanism. You can then determine how the product components move with respect to each other.

Enforced engineering connections appear under the Joints node in the mechanism representation.

The Joints tab includes the following areas:

• Joint List: Lists all available joints in the mechanism. You can filter the list content.
• Joint Management: Lets you include or exclude one or several selected joints from the mechanism.
• Command Management: Lets you select a driving command for the degrees of freedom of a joint.

The Joint List table provides details for each joint.

Column	Description
Included	Indicates whether the joint is enforced in the mechanism. Joints can be included or excluded . Note: indicates that the joint is included indirectly (this status applies to dressup joints).
Name	Displays the name of the joint.
Type	Displays the type of joint.
Command 1/Command 2	For joints with controlled constraints, indicates whether commands have been defined for the remaining degrees of freedom. The following options are available: Length: A length-based command is assigned to the degree of freedom. Angle: An angle-based command is assigned to the degree of freedom. No: No command is assigned to the degree of freedom. Not Drivable: A controlled constraint cannot be created for this joint.

To assign driving commands to a joint, use the Command Management options. According to the selected joint, you can assign one or two driving commands. For some joints, driving commands cannot be assigned.

Mechanism representations can be included in an assembly and animated according to one another.

The Assembly tab includes the following areas:

• Mechanism List: For the current mechanism, lists all the mechanisms available below the parent product. You can filter the list content.
• Joint Management: Lets you include or exclude one or several selected joints from the mechanism.
• Command Management: Lets you select a driving command for the degrees of freedom of a joint.

The Mechanism List table provides details for each mechanism.

Column	Description
Included	Indicates whether the mechanism is assembled. : Indicates that the mechanism is indirectly included by another mechanism (for example, a macro mechanism referencing another macro mechanism). : Indicates that the mechanism cannot be included because it would create cyclicality situations.
Name	Displays the name of the mechanism.
Status	Displays the mechanism status using a color code.
DOF with commands	Displays the current information on degrees of freedom for the mechanism.
Context	Provides the location of the mechanism within the product structure.

The Mechanism Manager also indicates:

• The number of unconstrained degrees of freedom.
• The number of unconstrained degrees of freedom with the assigned commands.
• Whether the mechanism can be simulated.

The simulation status of the mechanism is illustrated by a color code.

Status Icon	Description
	The mechanism is fully defined and can be simulated.
	The mechanism is partially defined and can be simulated. The mechanism is underconstrained: some degrees of freedom are not controlled by commands. Consequently, these degrees of freedom are unconstrained during the simulation. A Fix engineering connection is missing: fix a part to fully constrain all degrees of freedom. The mechanism includes interdependent commands. Some commands are interdependent and cannot be run simultaneously during the simulation. The mechanism is under-constrained and includes interdependent commands.
	The mechanism cannot be simulated: no command is defined.
	The mechanism cannot be simulated: it is overconstrained.

You can run a simulation when all degrees of freedom are accounted for by either engineering connection constraints or commands. In some cases, a single command can account for multiple linked degrees of freedom.

Important: For compound engineering connections, roll curve connections, and screw connections, you can control multiple degrees of freedom (DOF). The commands are linked (changing one command value automatically updates the other command value) and cannot be run simultaneously.