IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page1

Inthistutorial,wewilllearnthebasicsofperformingmotionanalysisusingSolidWorksMotion.
AlthoughthetutorialcanbecompletedbyanyonewithabasicknowledgeofSolidWorkspartsand
assemblies,wehaveprovidedenoughdetailsothatstudentswithanunderstandingofthephysicsof
mechanicswillbeabletorelatetheresultsto
thoseobtainedbyhandcalculations.
Beginbycreatingthesixpartmodelsdetailedon
page2.Foreachpart,definethematerialby
rightclickingMaterialintheFeatureManager
andselectingEditMaterial.TheMaterial
Editorwillappear,asshownhere.SelectAlloy
SteelfromthelistofsteelsintheSolidWorks
materialslibrary.ClickApplyandtheClose.
RotationofaWheel
Tobegin,wewillanalyzeasimplemodelofa
wheelsubjectedtoatorque.FromNewtons
SecondLaw,weknowthatthesumoftheforces
actingonabodyequalsthemassofthebody
timestheaccelerationofthebody,or
F = mo
Theaboveequationappliestobodiesundergoinglinearacceleration.Forrotatingbodies,Newtons
SecondLawcanbewrittenas:
H = Io
WhereHisthesumofthemomentsaboutanaxis,Iisthemassmomentofinertiaofthebodyabout
thataxis,andoistheangularaccelerationofthebody.Themomentofinertiaaboutanaxisisdefined
as:
I = _mr
2
JI
whereristheradialdistancefromtheaxis.Forsimpleshapes,themomentofinertiaisrelativelyeasy
tocalculate,asformulasforIofbasicshapesaretabulatedinmanyreferencebooks.However,for
morecomplexcomponents,calculationofIcanbedifficult.SolidWorksallowsmassproperties,
includingmomentsofinertia,tobedeterminedeasily.

IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page2

IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page3

OpenthepartWheel1.Fromthemainmenu,selectTools:MassProperties.
Themasspropertiesofthewheelarereportedinthepopupbox.Forthispart,theweightis40.02
pounds,andthemomentofinertiaaboutthezaxis(labeledasLzzinSolidWorks)is609.3lbin
2
.Note
thatifyoucenteredthepartabouttheorigin,thentheproperties,labeledTakenatthecenterofmass
andalignedwiththeoutputcoordinatesystemwillbeidenticaltothoselabeledPrincipalmoments...
takenatthecenterofmass.

Sincethewheelissymmetricabouttheaxisofrotation,itwillbedifficulttovisualizetherotational
motioninthemodel.Addinganonsymmetricpatterntooneofthefacesofthewheelwillbehelpful.
Selectthefrontfaceofthepart,
andchoosetheAppearanceTool
fromthecontexttoolbarthat
appears.Youcanchoosetoedit
theappearanceoftheface,the
feature,theassociatedsolid
body,ortheentirepart.Choose
Face,sincewewillbeapplying
thepatterntothefrontface
only.

IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page4

InthePropertyManager,clicktheAdvancedtabandtheColor/Imagetab.Under
Appearance,selectBrowse,andselectthecheckerpatternfromMaterials:
miscellaneous:Patterndirectory.ClickOpentoapplythepattern.

Clickanddragacornerofthepattern,asshownhere.Dragthe
corneroutwarduntilthepatternislargeenoughsothefaceisdivided
intofourquadrants,andclickthecheckmarkintheProperty
Manager.Savethepartfile.

OpenthepartWheel2.Findthemassproperties,andapplya
texturetoafaceofthemodel.Savethepartfile.

Notethatthemassofthispart(40.14lb)isalmostidenticaltothat
oftheotherwheel,butthemassmomentofinertia(837.0lbin
2
)is
about37%greater.Themassmomentofthepartdependsnotonly
onthepartsmass,butalsoonhowthatmassisdistributed.As
moremassisplacedatagreaterdistanceawayfromtheaxisofthe
part,thenthemassmomentofinertiaaboutthataxisincreases
(notether
2
intheequationforIonpage1).
Openanewassembly.InsertthecomponentFrame.
Sincethefirstcomponentinsertedintoanassemblyisfixed,itislogicaltoinsertthecomponent
representingthestationarycomponent(theframeor
groundcomponent)first.
InsertthepartWheel1intotheassembly.SelecttheMate
Tool.Addaconcentricmatebetweenthecenterholeofthe
wheelandoneoftheholesintheframelink.Besuretoselect
thecylindricalfacesforthemateandnotedges.Adda
coincidentmatebetweenthebackfaceofthewheelandthe
frontfaceoftheframelink.
IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page5

Youshouldnowbeabletoclickanddragthewheel,withrotationabouttheaxisofthematedholesthe
onlymotionallowedbythemates.Theadditionofthesetwomateshasaddedarevolutejointtothe
assembly.Arevolutejointissimilartoahingeinthatitallowsonlyonedegreeoffreedom.
ClickontheMotionStudy1tabnearthelowerleftcorner,whichopenstheMotionManageracross
thelowerportionofthescreen.

TheMotionManagercanbeusedtocreatesimulationsofvariouscomplexities:
Animationallowsthesimulationofthemotionwhenvirtualmotorsareappliedtodriveoneor
moreofthecomponentsatspecifiedvelocities,
BasicMotionallowstheadditionofgravityandsprings,aswellascontactbetweencomponents,
tothemodel,and
MotionAnalysis(SolidWorksMotion)allowsforthecalculationofvelocities,accelerations,and
forcesforcomponentsduringthemotion.Italsoallowsforforcestobeappliedtothemodel.
Thefirsttwooptionsarealwaysavailablein
SolidWorks.SolidWorksMotionisanaddin
program,andmustbeactivatedbeforeitcanbe
used.
Fromthemainmenu,selectTools:AddIns.Click
thecheckboxtotheleftofSolidWorksMotion.
Bycheckingtheboxtotherightofanaddin,you
canhavethataddinloadedeverytimeyouopen
SolidWorks.
SelecttheForceTool.
YouwillseeamessagedisplayedthatSolidWorksMotionis
requiredinordertoaddaforcetoasimulation.
IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page6

SelectMotionAnalysisfromthe
simulationoptionspulldown
menu.

Wewillapplyatorque(moment)tothewheel.Wewillsetthetorquetohaveaconstantvalueof1ftlb
(12inlb),andwillapplyitforadurationofeightseconds.
IntheForcePropertyManager,selectTorqueandthenclickonthefrontfaceofthewheel.

Notethatthearrowshowsthatthetorquewillbeappliedinthecounterclockwisedirectionrelativeto
theZaxis(wesaythatthistorquesdirectionis+Z).Thearrowsdirectlybelowthefaceselectionbox
canbeusedtoreversethedirectionofthetorque,ifdesired.
ScrolldownintheForcePropertyManagerandsetthevalueto
12inlb.ScrollbacktothetopofthePropertyManagerand
clickthecheckmarktoapplythetorque.

IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page7

IntheMotionManager,clickanddragthediamondshapedicon(termedakeyfromthedefaultfive
secondstothedesiredeightseconds(00:00:08).ClicktheCalculatorIcontoperformthesimulation.

Theanimationofthesimulationcanbeplayedbackwithoutrepeating
thecalculationsbyclickingthePlayfromStartkey.Thespeedofthe
playbackcanbecontrolledfromthepulldownmenubesidethePlay
controls.
Iftheplaybackappearschoppy,thenyoucanrepeattheanalysiswith
smallertimeincrementsbyselectingMotionStudyPropertiesandsetting
theframeratetoahighervalue.Becarefulwithsettingthisratetoo
high,asthespeedofthesimulationcalculationwillbegreatlyreducedfor
highframerates.

Asnotedearlier,SolidWorksMotionprovidesquantitativeanalysisresults
inadditiontoqualitativeanimationsofmotionmodels.Wewillcreate
plotsoftheangularaccelerationandangularvelocityofthewheel.
SelecttheResultsandPlotsTool.InthePropertyManager,usethepull
downmenustoselectDisplacement/Velocity/Acceleration:Angular
Acceleration:ZComponent.Clickonthefrontfaceofthewheel,andclick
thecheckmark.

IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page8

Aplotwillbecreatedoftheangularaccelerationversus
time.Theplotcanbedraggedaroundthescreenand
resized.Itcanalsobeeditedbyrightclickingtheplot
entitytobemodified,similartotheeditingofa
MicrosoftExcelplot.
Weseethattheaccelerationisaconstantvalue,about
436degreespersecondsquared.Sincetheapplied
torqueisconstant,itmakessensethattheangular
accelerationisalsoconstant.Wecancheckthevalue
withhandcalculations.Notethatwhilewecanperform
verycomplexanalyseswithSolidWorksMotion,checkingamodelbyapplyingsimpleloadsormotions
andcheckingresultsbyhandsisgoodpracticeandcanpreventmanyerrors.
Weearlierfoundthemassmomentofinertiatobe609.3lbin
2
.Sincethepoundisactuallyaunitof
force,notmass,weneedtoconvertweighttomassbydividingbythegravitationalacceleration.Since
weareusinginchesasourunitsoflength,wewilluseavalueof386.1in/s
2
:
I =
6u9.S lb in
2
S86.1
in
s
2
= 1.S77 lb in s
2

Sincethetorqueisequaltothemassmomentofinertiatimestheangularacceleration,wecanfindthe
angularaccelerationas:
o =
I
I
=
12 in
1.S77lb in s
2
= 7.61u
iau
s
2

Noticethatthenondimensionquantityradiansappearsinouranswer.Sincewewantouranswerin
termsofdegrees,wemustmakeonemoreconversion:
o = 7.61u
iau
s
2
_
18u ueg
iau
] = 4S6
ueg
s
2

ThisvalueagreeswithourSolidWorksMotionresult.
SelecttheResultsandPlotsTool.InthePropertyManager,usethepulldownmenustoselect
Displacement/Velocity/Acceleration:AngularVelocity:ZComponent.Clickonthefrontfaceofthe
wheel,andclickthecheckmark.Resizeandmovetheplotsothatbothplotscanbeseen,andformat
theplotasdesired.
IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page9

Asexpected,sincetheaccelerationisconstant,thevelocityincreaseslinearly.Thevelocityattheendof
eightsecondsisseentobeabout3485degreespersecond.Thisresultisconsistentwithahand
calculation:
= ot = _4S6
ueg
s
2
] (8 s) = S49u
ueg
s

Often,theangularvelocityisexpressedinrevolutionsperminute(rpm),commonlydenotedbythe
symbolN:
N = _S49u
ueg
s
] _
1 iev
S6u ueg
] _
6u s
1 min
] = S82 ipm
Wewillnowexperimentwithvariationsofthesimulation.
Placethecursoronthelinecorrespondingtotheappliedtorque(Torque1)atthe4secondmark.
RightclickandselectOff.
Anewkeywillbeplacedatthatlocation.Thetorquewillnowbeappliedforfourseconds,butthe
simulationwillcontinueforthefulleightseconds.
IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page10

PresstheCalculatoricontoperformthesimulation.
Theplotswillbeautomaticallyupdated.Notethattheangularaccelerationnowdropstozeroatfour
seconds,whiletheangularvelocitywillbeconstantafterfourseconds.

Intheprevioussimulations,thetorquewasappliedasaconstantvalue.Thatmeansthatthechangeof
theaccelerationrelativetotime(commonlyreferredtoasjerk)isinfiniteattime=0.Amorerealistic
approximationistoassumethatthetorquebuildsupoversomeperiodoftime.Forexample,wewill
assumethatittakestwosecondstoreachthefullvalueoftorque.
Movethetimebarbacktozero.RightclickonTorque1andselectEditFeature.
ScrolldowninthePropertyManager,andselectStepasthe
typeofForceFunction.Settheinitialtorqueto0andthe
finaltorqueto12inlb,andsettheendtimet
2
to2seconds.
Clickthecheckmark,andrunthesimulation.

Notethattheangularaccelerationcurveissmooth,andpeaksatthesamevalueasbefore(436deg/s
2
).
Ofcourse,thefinalangularvelocityislowerthanforaconstantacceleration.(Thereisstillaninfinite
Step Function
IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page11

changeinaccelerationatt=4seconds.Thiscanbesmoothedbyaddingasecondstepfunctionwhich
stepsthetorquefrom12inlbtozerooverafixedamountoftime.)

NowletsseetheeffectofreplacingtheWheel1componentwithWheel2,whichhasahighermass
momentofinertia.Ofcourse,wecouldstartwithanewassembly,butitiseasiertoreplacethe
componentintheexistingassembly.Thiswillallowustoretainmostofthesimulationentities.
SelecttheModeltab.Deletebothmatesbetweenthe
FrameandWheel1(otherwiseyouwillreceiveerrors
whenreplacingthewheel,asthematingfaceswillnotbe
defined).ClickonWheel1intheFeatureManagerto
selectit.Fromthemainmenu,selectFile:Replace.
BrowsetofindWheel2,andclickthecheckmarktomake
thereplacement.
Addnewmatesbetweenthepartsasbefore(concentric
matebetweentwoholes,coincidentmatebetweentwo
faces).

IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page12

RightclickonTorque1andselectEditFeature.Clickon
thefrontfaceofthenewwheel(Wheel2)toapplythe
torque.RuntheSimulation.

Notethatthemaximumangularaccelerationisabout317deg/s
2
,whichissignificantlylessthatofthe
simulationwiththeearlierWheel.Thisvaluecanbeverifiedbyrepeatingtheearliercalculationsor
fromtheratio:
o
2
o
1
=
I
1
I
2

o
2
=
I
1
I
2
o
1
=
6u9.S
8S7.u
_4S6
ueg
s
2
] = S17
ueg
s
2

IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page13

FourBarLinkage
Inthisexercise,wewillmodela4barlinkagesimilartothatofChapter11ofthetext.Inthetext,we
wereabletoqualitativelysimulatethemotionofthesimulationwhendrivenbyaconstantspeed
motor.Inthisexercise,wewilladdaforceandalsoexploremoreofthequantitativeanalysistools
availablewithSolidWorksMotion.
Constructthecomponentsofthelinkageshownonpage2,andassemblethemasdetailedinChapter
11ofthetext.TheFramelinkshouldbeplacedintheassemblyfirst,sothatitisthefixedlink.
YoushouldbeabletoclickanddragtheCranklinkaroundafull360degreerotation.

NotethattheConnectorlinkhasthreeholes.Themotionofthethirdholecanfollowmanypaths,
dependingonthegeometryofthelinksandthepositionofthehole.
Beforebeginningthesimulation,wewillsetthelinkstoapreciseorientation.Thiswillallowusto
compareourresultstohandcalculationsmoreeasily.
Addaperpendicularmatebetween
thetwofacesshownhere.
ExpandtheMatesgroupofthe
FeatureManager,andrightclickon
theperpendicularmatejustadded.
SelectSuppress.

Connector
Rocker
Crank
Frame
IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page14

Theperpendicularmatealignsthecranklinkatapreciselocation.However,wewantthecranktobe
abletorotate,sowehavesuppressedthemate.Wecouldhavedeletedthemate,butifweneedtore
alignthecranklater,wecansimplyunsuppressthemateratherthanrecreatingit.
SwitchtotheFrontView.Zoomoutsothattheviewlookssimilartotheoneshownhere.
TheMotionManagerusesthelastview/zoomofthemodelasthestartingviewforthesimulation.

MakesurethattheSolidWorksMotionaddinisactive.ClicktheMotionManagertab.
SelecttheMotoricon.InthePropertyManager,setthevelocityto60rpm.
ClickonthefrontfaceoftheCranktoapplythemotor,andclickthecheck
mark.

IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page15

Clickanddragthesimulationkeyfromthedefault
fivesecondstoonesecond(0:00:01).
Sincewesetthemotorsvelocityto60rpm,aone
secondsimulationwillincludeonefullrevolutionof
theCrank.

ClicktheMotionStudyPropertiesTool.UndertheMotionAnalysistab,set
thenumberofframesto100(framespersecond),andclickthecheck
mark.
Thissettingwillproduceasmooth
simulation.
ChooseSolidWorksMotionfromthepull
downmenu,andpresstheCalculatoricon
torunthesimulation.

ClicktheResultsandPlotsTools.InthePropertyManager,setthetypeoftheresulttoDisplacement/
Velocity/Acceleration:TracePath.ClickontheedgeoftheopenholeoftheConnector.

Playbackthesimulationtoseetheopenholes
pathoverthefullrevolutionoftheCrank.
Ifdesired,youcanaddpathsfortheothertwo
jointsthatundergomotion.

IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page16

Thefourbarlinkagecanbedesignedtoproduceavarietyofmotionpaths,asillustratedbelow.

Wewillnowaddaforcetotheopenhole.
Movethetimebarbacktozero.SelecttheForceTool.InthePropertyManager,thehighlightedbox
promptsyouforthelocationoftheforce.Clickontheedgeoftheopenhole,andtheforcewillbe
appliedatthecenterofthehole.

Thedirectionboxisnowhighlighted.Rotateandzoominsothatyoucanselectthetopfaceofthe
Framepart.Theforcewillbeappliednormaltothisforce.Asyoucansee,theforceactsupwards.

Clickthearrowstoreversethe
directionoftheforce.
IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page17

ScrolldowninthePropertyManagerandsetthemagnitudeofthe
forceto20pounds.Clickthecheckmarktoapplytheforce.
Runthesimulation.
Wewillnowplotthetorqueofthemotorthatisrequiredtoproduce
the60rpmmotionwiththe20lbloadapplied.
SelectResultsandPlots.IntheProperty
Manager,specifyForces:MotorTorque:Z
Component.ClickontheRotaryMotorin
theMotionManagertoselectit,andclick
thecheckmarkinthePropertyManager.
Formattheresultingplotasdesired.

Notethattheappliedtorquepeaksatabout51inlb.Att=0,thetorqueappearstobeabout30inlb
(thenegativesignsindicatesthedirectionisabouttheZaxis,orclockwise
whenviewedfromtheFrontView).Inordertogetamoreexactvalue,we
canexportthenumericalvaluestoaCSV(commaseparatedvalues)file
thatcanbereadinWordorExcel.
RightclickinthegraphandchooseExportCSV.Savethefiletoa
convenientlocation,andopenitinExcel.
IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page18

Attime=0,weseethatthemotortorqueis29.2
inlb.
Handcalculationsforastaticanalysisofthe
mechanismareattached,whichshowavalueof
29.4inlb.
Itisimportantwhencomparingthesevaluesto
recognizetheassumptionsthatarepresentinthe
handcalculations:
1. Theweightsofthememberswerenotincludedintheforces,and
2. Theaccelerationsofthememberswereneglected.
Thefirstassumptioniscommoninmachinedesign,astheweightsofthemembersareusuallysmallin
comparisontotheappliedloads.Incivilengineering,thisisusuallynotthecase,astheweightsof
structuressuchasbuildingandbridgesareoftengreaterthantheappliedforces.
Thesecondassumptionwillbevalidonlyiftheaccelerationsarerelativelylow.Inourcase,theangular
velocityofthecrank(60rpm,oronerevolutionpersecond)producesaccelerationsinthemembersthat
aresmallenoughtobeignored.
Letsaddgravitytothesimulationtoseeitseffect.
ClickontheGravityicon.InthePropertyManager,selectYasthedirection.Therewillbeanarrow
pointingdowninthelowerrightcornerofthegraphicsarea,showingthatthedirectioniscorrect.
Clickthecheckmark.Runthesimulation.

Thetorqueplotisalmostunchanged,withthepeaktorqueincreasingbyonlyoneinlb.Therefore,
omittinggravityhadverylittleeffectonthecalculations.
Nowwewillincreasethevelocityofthemotortoseetheeffectonthetorque.

IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page19

Dragthekeyattheendofthetopbarinthe
MotionManagerfrom1secondto0.1second.Usethe
ZoomInToolinthelowerrightcornerofthe
MotionManagertospreadoutthetime
line,ifdesired.

Dragthesliderbarshowingthetimewithinthesimulation
backtozero.
Thisisanimportantstepbeforeeditingexistingmodel
items,aschangescanbeappliedatdifferenttimesteps.
Becausewewantthemotorsspeedtobechangedfrom
thebeginningofthesimulation,itisimportanttosetthe
simulationtimeatzero.

RightclickontheRotaryMotorintheMotionManager.Inthe
PropertyManager,setthespeedto600rpm.Clickthecheckmark.

Sinceafullrevolutionwilloccurinonly0.1seconds,weneedtoincrease
theframerateofthesimulationtoachieveasmoothplot.

SelecttheMotionStudyProperties.InthePropertyManager,settheSolidWorksMotionframerateto
1000frames/second.Clickthecheckmark.
Runthesimulation.

IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page20

Thepeaktorquehasincreasedfrom51to180inlb,
demonstratingthatasthespeedisincreased,the
accelerationsofthemembersarethecriticalfactors
affectingthetorque.
Youcanverifythisconclusionfurtherbysuppressing
bothgravityandtheapplied20lbloadandrepeating
thesimulation.Thepeaktorqueisdecreasedonly
from180to151inlb,evenwithnoexternalloads
applied.

Toperformhandcalculationswiththeaccelerationsincluded,itisnecessarytofirstperformakinematic
analysistodeterminethetranslationalandangularaccelerationsofthemembers.Youcanthendraw
freebodydiagramsofthethreemovingmembersandapplythreeequationsofmotiontoeach:
F
x
= ma
x
F
y
= ma
y
N
z
= I
Z

Theresultisnineequationsthatmustbesolvedsimultaneouslytofindthenineunknownquantities(the
appliedtorqueandthetwocomponentsofforceateachofthefourpinjoints).
Theresultsapplytoonlyasinglepointintime.Thisisamajoradvantageofusingasimulationprogram
suchasSolidWorksMotion:sinceitisnotevidentatwhatpointinthemotionthattheforcesare
maximized,ouranalysisevaluatestheforcesoverthecompleterangeofthemechanismsmotionand
allowsustoidentifythecriticalconfiguration.

RolleronaRamp
Inthisexercise,wewilladdcontactbetweentwobodies,andexperimentwithfrictionbetweenthe
bodies.Wewillbeginbycreatingtwonewpartsarampandaroller.
Openanewpart.IntheFrontPlane,sketchanddimensionthetriangleshownhere.

Origin
IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page21

Extrudethetriangleusingthemidplaneoption,withathicknessof1.2inches.

IntheTopPlane,usingtheCorner
RectangleTool,drawarectangle.
Addamidpointrelationbetweenthe
leftedgeoftherectangleandthe
origin.Addthetwodimensions
shown,andextrudetherectangle
down0.5inches.

Modifythematerial/appearanceasdesired(shownhereas
Pine).SavethispartwiththenameRamp.

Openanewpart.SketchanddimensionaoneinchdiametercircleintheFrontPlane.Extrudethe
circlewiththemidplaneoption,toatotalthicknessofoneinch.SetthematerialofthepartasPVC
Rigid.Modifythecolorofthepartasdesired(overridingthedefaultcolorofthematerialselected).

Openanewsketchonthefrontfaceofthecylinder.
Addanddimensionthecirclesandlinesasshownhere
(thepartisshowninwireframemodeforclarity).The
twodiagonallinesaresymmetricaboutthevertical
centerline.

IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page22

ExtrudeacutwiththeThroughAlloption,withthesketchcontoursshownselected.Ifdesired,change
thecolorofthecutfeature.

Createacircularpatternoftheextrudedcutfeatures,withfiveequally
spacedcuts.SavethepartwiththenameRoller.

Openanewassembly.Inserttherampfirst,andplaceitattheoriginoftheassembly.Insertthe
Roller.

Addtwomatesbetweentherampandtheroller.MatetheFrontPlanesofbothparts,andadda
tangentmatebetweenthecylindricalsurfaceoftherollerandthesurfaceoftheramp.

Thebestwaytosetthecorrectheightoftherollerontherampisto
addamatedefiningthepositionoftheaxisoftheroller.

FromtheHeadsUpViewToolbar,selectView:TemporaryAxes.

Thiscommandturnsonthedisplayofaxesthatareassociatedwith
cylindricalfeatures.
IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page23

Addadistancematebetweentherollersaxisandtheflat
surfaceatthebottomoftheramp.Setthedistanceas6.5
inches.

Sincetheradiusoftherolleris0.5
inches,theaxiswillbe0.5inches
abovetheflatsurfacewhenthe
surfaceoftherollercontactsthat
surface.Therefore,thevertical
distancetraveledbytherollerwill
be6.0inches.Also,notethatthe
distancetravelleddowntheramp
willbe12inches(6inchesdivided
bythesineoftherampangle,30
degrees).

Turnoffthetemporaryaxisdisplay.SwitchtotheMotionStudy.SelectMotionAnalysisasthetypeof
analysis.Addgravityintheydirection.

SelecttheContactTool.InthePropertyManager,youwillbepromptedto
selectthebodiesforwhichcontactcanoccur.Clickoneachofthetwo
parts.ClearthecheckboxeslabeledMaterialandFriction.Leavethe
otherpropertiesastheirdefaults.

Wewilladdfrictionlater,butourinitialsimulationwillbeeasiertoverifywithoutfriction.IntheElastic
Propertiessection,notethatthedefaultissetasImpact,withseveralotherproperties(stiffness,
exponent,etc.)specified.Ateachtimestep,theprogramwillcheckforinterferencebetweenthe
IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page24

selectedbodies.Ifthereisinterference,thenthespecifiedparametersdefineanonlinearspringthat
actstopushthebodiesapart.Contactsaddconsiderablecomplexitytoasimulation.Ifthetimesteps
aretoolarge,thenthecontactmaynotberecognizedandthebodieswillbeallowedtopassthrough
eachother,oranumericalerrormayresult.

SelecttheMotionStudiesPropertyTool.Settheframerateto500andchecktheboxlabeledUse
PreciseContact.Clickthecheckmark.

Forsomesimulations,itmaybenecessarytolowerthesolutiontoleranceinordertogetthesimulation
torun.Forthisexample,thedefaulttoleranceshouldbefine.

Thematesthatweaddedbetweenthepartstopreciselylocatetherollerontherampwillprevent
motionoftheroller.Ratherthandeletethesemates,wecansuppressthemintheMotionManager.

RightclickoneachofthematesintheMotionManagerandselectSuppress.Runthesimulation.

Youwillseethattherollerreachesthebottomoftherampquickly.

Changethedurationofthesimulationto0.5seconds,andrunthesimulationagain.Createaplotof
themagnitudeofthelinearvelocityoftherollervs.time.

Therollerreachesthebottomoftherampinabout0.35seconds,andthevelocityatthebottomofthe
rampisabout68in/s.Thesevaluesagreewiththosecalculatedintheattachmentattheendofthis
document.

Nowletsaddfriction.

Movethetimelineofthesimulationbacktozero.RightclickonthecontactintheMotionManager
tree,andselectEditFeature.ChecktheFrictionbox,andsetthedynamiccoefficientoffrictionto
0.25.(Thefrictionvelocityisnotcriticalforthissimplifiedmodel;itcanbesettozero.)Calculatethe
simulation.

IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page25

Theresultingvelocityplotshowsthevelocityatthebottomoftheramptobeabout54in/s.Thisvalue
agreeswiththatofthecalculationsshownintheattachment.

Toconfirmthattherollerisnotslipping,we
cantracethepositionofasinglepointonthe
roller.

SelecttheResultsandPlotsTool.Definethe
plotasDisplacement/Velocity/Acceleration:
TracePath.Clickonapointneartheouter
rimoftheroller(notonaface,butona
singlepoint).Clickthecheckmark.

Thetracepathshowsasharpcuspswherethe
pointsvelocityapproacheszero(itwillnot
becomeexactlyzerounlessthepointisonthe
outersurfaceoftheroller).Forcomparison,
repeattheanalysiswithalowerfriction
coefficient.

Changethefrictioncoefficientto0.15and
recalculatethesimulation.

Thistime,thetracepathsshowssmoothcurveswhenthepointisneartherampssurface,indicating
thatslidingandrollingaretakingplace
simultaneously.

Intheattachment,itisshownthatthe
coefficientoffrictionrequiretoprevent
slippingisabout0.21.

Itisinterestingtonotethatthefriction
coefficienttopreventslippingandthetime
requiredtoreachthebottomoftherampare
bothfunctionsoftheratioofthemomentof
inertiatothemassoftheroller.Youcan
confirmthisbychangingthematerialoftherollerandseeingthattheresultsofthesimulationare
unchanged.However,ifyouchangethegeometryoftheroller(theeasiestwayisbysuppressingthe
cutoutregions),thentheresultswillchange.

IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page26

ATTACHMENT:VERIFICATIONCALCULATIONS
STATICANALYSISOFFOURBARLINKAGESUBJECTEDTO20LBAPPLIEDFORCE
FreebodydiagramofConnector:

NotethatmemberCDisa2forcemember,andsotheforceattheendisalignedalongthemembers
axis.
Applyequilibriumequations:
N
B
= (S.714 in)(C sin(7S.u9)) + (1.8S2 in)(C cos(7S.u9)) -(11.427 in)(2u lb) = u
(S.S22 in)C + (u.4714 in)C = 228.S in lb
(S.99S in)C = 228.S in lb
C =
228.S in lb
S.99S in
= S8.1S lb

F
x
= B
x
- (S8.1S lb)cos(7S.u9) = u
B
x
= 9.812 lb

20lb
CD
B
y
B
x
B
C
A
D
IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page27

F
y
= B

- (S8.1S lb)sin(7S.u9) - 2u lb = u
B

= -16.8S lb

FreebodydiagramofCrank:

NotethatB
x
andB
y
areshowninoppositedirectionsasinConnectorFBD.
SummomentsaboutA:
N
A
= I + (S in)B
x
= u
I = -(S in)(9.812 lb) = -29.4 in lb

B
y
B
x
A
x
A
y
T
IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page28

ROLLERCALCULATIONS
NoFriction:
Freebodydiagram:

F
x
= Wsin = mo
x

F
y
= N - Wcos = u

Whereistherampangle(30degrees)

Sincetheweightisequalthemassmtimesthegravitationalaccelerationg,theaccelerationinthex
directiono
x
willbe:
o
x
= g sin

Theaccelerationisintegratedwithrespecttotimetofindthevelocityinthexdirection:

:
x
= _g sin ut = g sin t + v
xo

Wherev
xo
istheinitialvelocityinthexdirection.Thevelocityisintegratedtofindthedistancetravelled
inthexdirection:

x = _(g sin t +v
xo
) ut =
g
2
sint
2
+ v
xo
t + x
0

Wherex
u
istheinitialposition.Ifwemeasurexfromthestartingposition,thenx
u
iszero.Iftheblockis
initiallyatrest,thenv
xo
isalsozero.Inoursimulation,theblockwillslideadistanceof12inchesbefore
contactingthebottomoftheramp(seethefigureonpage23).

Knowingthedistancetravelledinthexdirection,andenteringthenumericalvaluesofgas386.1in/s
2

andofsin of0.5(sinof30
o
),wecanfindthetimeittakestheblocktoslidetothebottom:
W
N
x
y
IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page29

12 in =
S86.1in s
2

2
(u.S)t
2

or
t = u.SSS s

SubstitutingthisvalueintoEquation4,wefindthevelocityatthebottomoftheramp:

:
x
= S86.1
in
s
2
(u.S)(u.SSS s) = 68.1
in
s

Thisvelocitycanalsobefoundbyequatingthepotentialenergywhentherollerisatthetopoftheramp
(heightabovethedatumequals6inches)tothekineticenergywhentherollerisatthebottomofthe
ramp:
mgb =
1
2
m:
x
2

:
x
= 2gb =
_
2(S86.1
in
s
2
)(6 in) = 68.1
in
s

FrictionIncluded:
FreeBodyDiagram:

Whiletherollerwithoutfrictionslidesandcanbetreatedasaparticle,therollerwithfriction
experiencesrigidbodyrotation.Theequationsofequilibriumare:
F
x
= Wsin - = mo
x

F
y
= N - Wcos = u
N
c
= i =I
o
o
W
N
f
x
y
IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page30

Ifthereisnoslipping,thentherelativevelocityoftheroller
relativetotherampiszeroatthepointwherethetwo
bodiesareincontact(pointO).Sincetherampis
stationary,thisleadstotheobservationthatthevelocityof
pointOisalsozero.

SincepointOisthecenterofrotationoftheroller,the
tangentialaccelerationofthecenteroftheroller(o
x
)can
bewrittenas:
o
x
= io

Substitutingthisexpressionintothefirstequilibriumequationandsolvingforthefrictionforce,

= Wsin - mio

Substitutingthisexpressionintothethirdequilibriumequationandsolvingfortheangularacceleration
o,

(Wsin - mio) i =I
o
o

W(sin)i =I
o
o +mi
2
o

o =
W(sin)i
I
o
+ mi
2

ThemassandthemomentofintertiaI
o
canbeobtainedfromSolidWorks.Fortheroller,thevaluesare:

m = u. u1716S lb

I
o
= u.uu2S1S lb in
2

Sincepoundsareunitsofweight,notmass,theyquantitiesabovemustbedividedbygtoobtainthe
quantitiesinconsistentunits:
m =
u. u1716S lb
S86.1 ins
2
= 4.44SS X 1u
-5

lb s
2
in


I
o
=
u.uu2S1S lb in
2
S86.1 ins
2
= 6.S1S9 X 1u
-6
lb in s
2

Thevalueoftheangularaccelerationcannowbefound:
o =
W(sin)i
I
o
+ mi
2
=
u. u1716S lb(sinSu
o
)(u.S in)
6.S1S9e - 6 lb in s
2
+ 4.44SSc - S
lb s
2
in
(u.S in)
2
= 24S.4
iau
s
2

O
C

IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2011 SolidWorksMotionTutorial Page31

Therefore,thelinearaccelerationinthexdirectionis:
o
x
= io = (u.S in) _24S.4
iau
s
2
] = 121. 7
in
s
2

Integratingtoobtainthevelocityandpositionatanytime:

:
x
= _o
x
ut = o
x
t + v
xo
= 121. 7
in
s
2
t

x = _(o
x
t +v
xo
) ut =
1
2
o
x
t
2
+ v
xo
t +x
0
= 6u.8S
in
s
2
t
2

Fortherollertotravel12inchesinthexdirection,thetimerequiredis

t = _
12 in
6u.8S in s
2

= u.444 s

Andthevelocityatthebottomoftherampis:

:
x
= 121. 7
in
s
2
(u.444 s) = S4.u
in
s

Wecanalsocalculatethefrictionforce:
= Wsin - mio = u. u1716S lb(sinSu) -_4.44SS e - S
lb s
2
in
_(u.S in) _24S.4
iau
s
2
]
= u.uuS18 lb
Fromthesecondequilibriumequation,thenormalforceis:
N = Wcos = u. u1716S lb(cos Su) = u.1486 lb
Sincethemaximumfrictionforceisthecoefficientoffrictionptimesthenormalforce,thecoefficientof
frictionmustbeatleast:

p
mIn
=
u.uuS18 lb
u.1486 lb
= u.21
Thisistheminimumcoefficientoffrictionrequiredfortherollertorollwithoutslipping.