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Tutorial On Assembly and Solidworks Motion: Objective

This tutorial provides instructions for creating an assembly of a four-bar linkage in SolidWorks, establishing mating relationships between the parts, performing motion analysis in SolidWorks, and generating an X-Y displacement plot. Key steps include creating an assembly from individual parts, using concentric and coincident mates to connect the parts, adding a rotary motor to drive the crank, running a motion study, and plotting the displacement of the coupler versus the crank pin over one full rotation.

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49 views7 pages

Tutorial On Assembly and Solidworks Motion: Objective

This tutorial provides instructions for creating an assembly of a four-bar linkage in SolidWorks, establishing mating relationships between the parts, performing motion analysis in SolidWorks, and generating an X-Y displacement plot. Key steps include creating an assembly from individual parts, using concentric and coincident mates to connect the parts, adding a rotary motor to drive the crank, running a motion study, and plotting the displacement of the coupler versus the crank pin over one full rotation.

Uploaded by

D_D_76
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Tutorial on Assembly and SolidWorks Motion


Dept. of Mechanical Engineering 22.321 Mechanical Design I Written by: Gregg Merlino 9/22/2009 Revised by: Dimitri Soteropoulos 9/2/11

Objective:
This tutorial is an example of techniques used to create an assembly in SolidWorks and perform motion analysis.

Prerequisites:
This tutorial assumes the user has completed Tutorial 1: SolidWorks Modeling and Drawing with each part in the linkage completed.

Task 1: Creating the Assembly


Open all of your part drawings in SolidWorks, including pins and bearings. Pick one of the parts and begin an assembly from the part located in the file menu. In the assembly screen, you will notice a list of all your parts on the lefthand side of the screen similar to Figure 1. File>>make assembly from part

Figure 1. Begin Assembly Window

Click on the base plate, and drag it into the workspace. If additional parts are needed, click on insert components in the assembly tab at the top of the window. Insert>>Part 1

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Tutorial on Assembly and SolidWorks Motion

Once the parts have been added, they will float in space as seen in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Imported Parts in Solidworks Prior to Assembly

Relationships need to be established in order to create the linkage. The method of creating these relationships in SolidWorks is called mating. To illustrate, select the outer surface of a bearing and click on the Mate button in the toolbar (Figure 3). The parameters for the mate feature will open in the property manager on the left side. Next, select the surface on the inside of the base plate. Click the green check mark to accept the mate. The default mate created is concentric.

Figure 3. Example of Concentric Mate

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Tutorial on Assembly and SolidWorks Motion

Select the back of the base plate and the face of the bearing, and create a mate between them. The next mate will be coincident where the parts share the same plane. Repeat this process for each part until the assembly is made. The mates for each component of the link will be coincident and concentric. Remove any unused parts, and your final outcome will be a fully functional fourbar linkage with bearings and pins, similar to Figure 4.

Figure 4. Final Assembly after Mating

You can change the appearance of your links to obtain a better visual representation of your linkage. This change can be found in the edit drop down menu under appearance. Figure 5 illustrates changes made to the link appearance.

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Tutorial on Assembly and SolidWorks Motion

Figure 5. Linkage after Change of Appearance

Task 2: SolidWorks Motion Analysis:


After the assembly has been created, motion analysis can be performed. In the toolbar, click the drop down menu and select addins (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Addin Detail

Check the SolidWorks motion box, and click OK (Figure 7).

Figure 7. Addins Feature

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Tutorial on Assembly and SolidWorks Motion

After the motion analysis component has been added, a new option in the motion analysis drop down menu will appear. Select motion analysis. Figure 8 details options available in motion analysis.

Figure 8. Motion Analysis Interface

Next, select a motor using the motor icon in the motion analysis screen. Set the parameter for motor speed and direction as well as the desired part to set in motion. Figure 9 is a detail of the motor control Interface.

Select Rotary Motor for Linkage Select Face of Crank and direction Motor Speed Control

Figure 9. Motor Control Interface

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Tutorial on Assembly and SolidWorks Motion

Once the motor has been selected, the motion of the linkage must be calculated by clicking the motion study icon, found in the motion analysis screen (Figure 8). In order to plot displacement, each of the preceding steps must be performed. After motion study calculations have been made, the XY plot function can be used to calculate relative position. Open the XY plot window in motion analysis by

selecting the icon to begin plot sequence. Follow the selections shown in Figure 10 to plot the displacement of the couplers center of mass relative to the pin on the crank. The displacement plot is shown in Figure 11.

Point that you want to track Reference Point

Figure 10. Plot Parameters Window

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Tutorial on Assembly and SolidWorks Motion

Figure 11. Plot Display from Motion Analysis

The plot shown in Figure 11 was based on a sixsecond period determined by a motor speed of 10RPM. This value was not a default value. In order to plot one complete rotation of the crank, the period will need to be adjusted by dragging the time line bar to the desired time period. Figure 12 contains a detail of the time line bar at the bottom of the motion analysis window.

Drag line to adjust period of motion

Figure 12. Time Window

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