Applying Loads

You can define forces and torques on the marker of a body to create external influences during the dynamic simulation of a mechanism.

This task shows you how to:

See Also
About Loads

Define Forces

  1. From the Mechanism section of the action bar, click Applied Load .
    The force element is created and appears in the tree, under the Applied Loads node of the active mechanism.
  2. In the Applied Load dialog box, click Force .
  3. In the Application point box , select a marker in the work area on which to apply the force.

    The force is applied at the origin of the marker.

  4. Optional: To apply a reaction force and a reaction torque:
    1. Select the Apply reaction force and torque check box.
    2. In the Reaction point box , select the marker on which to apply the reaction force and reaction torque.

      Important: Select a marker on a different body than the one including the application point. A moment is created between the two bodies.

  5. From the Input reference frame menu, select the coordinate system to use to compute the force values.
    OptionDescription
    Global reference system Coordinate system of the global frame of reference.
    Application point marker Local coordinate system of the marker selected as the application point.
    Reaction point marker Local coordinate system of the marker selected as the reaction point.
    Note: Select the Apply reaction force and torque check box to use this coordinate system.
  6. From the Definition by menu, select a method to specify the force values:
    • Constant value
    • Function
  7. If you selected Constant value, enter a value in newton for the force along the x, y, and z axis.
  8. If you selected Function, click and select a time-dependent function (force through time) to use for the x, y, and z-axis.

    Note: If you do not select an input function for the x, y, or z-axis, a force of 0N is applied.

  9. Click OK.

Define Torques

  1. From the Mechanism section of the action bar, click Applied Load .
    The torque element is created and appears in the tree, under the Applied Loads node of the active mechanism.
  2. In the Applied Load dialog box, click Torque .
  3. In the Application point box , select a marker in the work area on which to apply the force.

    The force is applied at the origin of the marker.

  4. Optional: To apply a reaction torque:
    1. Select the Apply reaction torque check box.
    2. In the Reaction point box , select a marker on which to apply the reaction force.

      Important: Select a marker on a different body than the one including the application point. A moment is created between the two bodies.

  5. From the Input reference frame menu, select the coordinate system to use to compute the force values.
    OptionDescription
    Global reference system Coordinate system of the global frame of reference.
    Application point marker Local coordinate system of the marker selected as the application point.
    Reaction point marker Local coordinate system of the marker selected as the reaction point.
    Note: Select the Apply reaction torque check box to use this coordinate system.
  6. From the Definition by menu, select a method to specify the torque values:
    • Constant value
    • Function
  7. If you selected Constant value, enter a value in newton-meter for the torque along the x, y, and z axis.
  8. If you selected Function, click and select a time-dependent function (force through time) to use for the x, y, and z-axis.

    Note: If you do not select an input function for the x, y, or z-axis, a force of 0Nm is applied.

  9. Click OK.

Edit Loads

  1. In the tree, do one of the following:
    • Double-click a force or torque.
    • Right-click a force or torque, and select Definition from the object menu.
  2. Edit the force or torque parameters.
  3. Click OK.
Run the analysis case of the active mechanism to compute the dynamic simulation of the mechanism and to generate the results of the applied loads. For more information, see Computing Analysis Cases.
Note: You can then display and plot the results of the computed forces and torques. For more information, see Displaying Solver Messages and Using a 2D Plot.