Defining the Gravity of Mechanisms

You can define the gravitational acceleration of a mechanism during its simulation.

Before you begin: Create a mechanism.
Note: A Gravity element is created automatically under the Globals node of the mechanism.
  1. To edit the gravity of a mechanism, in the tree, do one of the following:
    • Double-click the Gravity element included under the Globals node of the mechanism.
    • Right-click the Gravity element and select Gravity object > Definition....
  2. To modify the direction of the gravity:
    1. Click Direction Picker .
    2. In the work area, select a geometry element.

      You can select a point, a line, a surface, or an axis from a body reference marker.

    3. Optional: Clear the Toggle Direction check box to reverse the direction of the gravity.
      In the work area, the direction of the gravity arrow is reversed.

    4. Click OK.
    In the Gravity dialog box, the gravitational acceleration values for the x, y, and z-axis are updated.
  3. Specify a value to define the gravity direction along the x, y, and z axis.
  4. Specify a magnitude value for the gravity.

    Note: By default, the magnitude is 9.81 m_s2.

  5. Optional: To reset the gravity to its initial definition, click Reset gravity definition .
  6. Click OK.