Create a Kinematic Coupling

Use a coupling to apply a load that represents the clip being pushed into the buckle to measure the insertion force.

A coupling connection joins two supports (such as faces or element sets) using either a rigid or a spring-loaded connection. In a kinematic coupling, nodes are constrained to move with the rigid body motion of the reference node. In this example, a kinematic coupling is used to mimic a person pushing on the clip. For more information on the differences between kinematic and distributed couplings, see the Dassault Systèmes Knowledge Base article What is the difference between kinematic coupling and distributing coupling?

  1. From the action bar, click Model .
    The assembly opens in Structural Model Creation.
  2. From the Connections section of the action bar, click Coupling .
  3. Name the coupling Clip Coupling.
  4. Select both faces of the clip as the Support 1, and accept the default value for Support 2.

    Tip: The View section of the action bar contains controls for viewing different parts of the geometry. You can select different parts of the geometry by clicking them in your model.



  5. From the Coupling type options, select Kinematic.
  6. Click OK.
    The kinematic coupling appears under Model > MyNameEXAMPLE-ClipAndBuckle-Product A.1 > Engineering Connections > Free.1 > Simulation properties.1 in the tree.