The Cosmos Companion: Using Cosmosmotion Loads in Cosmosworks

Volume 113
The COSMOS Companion

Using COSMOSMotion Loads in COSMOSWorks
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Image courtesy of National Optical Astronomy
Observatory, operated by the Association of Universities
for Research in Astronomy, under cooperative
agreement with the National Science Foundation.
Using COSMOSMotion
Loads in COSMOSWorks
Volume 113
Sponsored by:
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2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential.
FE Sanity Check Series
What is the COSMOS Companion?
The COSMOS Companion is a series of short subjects to
help design engineers build better products with SolidWorks
Analysis
Video presentations and accompanying exercises
A tool for Continuous Learning on your schedule
Pre-recorded videos are accompanied by a more detailed
webcast with Q & A
Download videos and review webcast schedule at:
http://www.cosmosm.com/pages/news/COSMOS_Companion.html
It is not an alternative to instructor-led introductory training
We highly recommend you take a course with your local reseller to
build a solid knowledge base
If you are new to the COSMOS Companion, a few comments on the program are
warranted. The COSMOS Companion series was developed in response to the request
from many of our users for more detailed information on specific and/or new functionality
within the COSMOS products. Additionally, many users have been asking for clarification of
common design analysis questions to enable them to make more representative analysis
models and make better decisions with the data. Whats more, users have asked for this
material to be made available in a variety of formats so they can review it how and when
they wish. To address this, each COSMOS Companion topic has been pre-recorded and
made available thru the COSMOS Companion homepage as a downloadable or streaming
video with audio, as static PDF slides for printing, or as a live webcast enabling attendees
to ask questions and engage in additional discussion. We are trying to provide continuous
learning on your schedule so you can be as effective and efficient as possible when using
COSMOS for design analysis and validation.
It is important to note that this material is not developed as an alternative to instructor led
training. We still believe that the best introduction to any of the COSMOS products is in a
class led by your resellers certified instructor. In this program, we are hoping to build on the
lessons learned in your initial training. In fact, we will make the assumption that you have
basic knowledge of the interface and workflow from intro training or equivalent experience.
We will try not to repeat what was taught in those classes or can be found in the on-line
help but to augment that information.
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Topics to be Covered
Refresher on steps for importing Motion loads
Troubleshooting transferred loads
Tips & Tricks for importing cleaner loads
Using the imported information to redefine loads
In this edition of the COSMOS Companion, well be discussing some issues related to
using COSMOSMotion loads in COSMOSWorks. Your Intro to COSMOSWorks training
should have provided a basic overview of the workflow involved in transferring the loads but
there are some important tips that can make the integration of the two tools more effective.
After reviewing the basic steps for importing these loads in COSMOSWorks, well talk
about some of the most commonly encountered problems users see and provide some
techniques for cleaning these imported loads up.
Finally, well talk about situations when you might need to use the information provided by
COSMOSMotion to redefine your COSMOSWorks model to get a more appropriate
response instead of using the loads as automatically defined.
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Importing Motion Loads The Process
Build Motion Model
J oints (not contact) required on part(s) you expect to complete FEA
on
Eliminate redundancies
Choose proper load transfer faces for FEA tab on J oints
Solve and Review Motion Results
If Motion response appears correct, SAVE your assembly before
attempting to transfer loads
Review response plots and determine frame(s) of interest
Simulation Control window helps with this
Simulation
Controls
Export
FEA
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In Assembly doc, open COSMOSWorks
In COSMOSWorks drop-down, Import Motion
Loads
Select components in assembly you plan to run
FEA on
Choose single or multi-
frame results
Max of 100 frames in
multi-frame
Creates design scenario
for each frame
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If Multi-Frame & Design
Scenarios, solve a couple
single scenarios to determine
Results Locations before
running All Scenarios
Study Name 1-51-1
Frames 1-51
Increment of 1
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Troubleshooting Loads
Most common error Improperly positioned joint location
points
Well use this assembly to discuss this problem and review
solutions
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Initial Assembly Setup
Exploded views make setting up assemblies and joints in
Motion mush easier
Setting up Exploded Views for creating J oints in COSMOSMotion or Loads and Restraints
in COSMOSWorks is an fast and convenient way to access the appropriate faces without
having to use the Select Other RMB function all the time. However, when using
COSMOSMotion, make sure you return the model to the un-exploded view before running a
solution as the Motion interface may mis-interpret the temporary part locations.
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In SolidWorks, Concentric
Mates are applied in the usual
manner
Concentric Mate
Concentric Mate
Note that the feature corresponding the wrist pin in the Piston has been divided with a split
line to create a center section. This is not necessary to generate appropriate loads in
COSMOSMotion but can come in handy for the subsequent study in COSMOSWorks.
Well be focusing on the Connecting Rod in this example but if the Piston was the part of
interest, the split line would be necessary. The load transfer from COSMOSMotion applies
reaction loads to the faces specified in the FEA tab on the J oint definition form. If the pin
wasnt split, the reaction load would be distributed across the entire pin which, in this case,
would have produced a reduced response on the pin. By splitting the face as shown, the
reaction load is applied directly on the area of contact between the parts, in the middle of
the pin, and a more extreme response, which is indicative of the real system, would be
calculated.
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As Mate-Defined J oints, the
J oint placement cannot be
edited.
COSMOSMotion will attempt to define J oints based on the Mate definitions in SolidWorks.
While this can be a huge timesaver, the J oints created cannot be redefined in the same
way as User Defined J oints. If these arent correctly placed, youll need to delete them and
re-create them manually.
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Note that the
Mate Defined
J oints are not
on the center
plane of the
Connecting
Rod
Does this
matter?
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These are the loads that are created in COSMOSWorks from the imported
COSMOSMotion loads. All loads on the load bearing faces defined in the COSMOSMotion
J oint Property set-up are applied as Remote Loads with the origin point of the load
corresponding to the J oint Location in COSMOSMotion. In this model, the remote loads are
placed on opposite sides of the part. The inertial forces needed to zero out the
force/moment balance are applied as centrifugal velocities and accelerations as well as
linear accelerations defined in a Gravity Load.
Note the small out of plane loads on the Remote Load definitions and the Gravitational
Acceleration. These are caused by numerical round-off in the dynamic solver. Are they
large enough to visibly impact the results?
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Is this the deformation expected from this mechanism?
It is not un-common to notice out of plane deformation on the same order of magnitude of
as the deformation of interest when loads are imported in this manner. The root cause of
this problem is out-of-plane loading somewhere in the model. For two force members
undergoing essentially planar motion, the error is easy to identify although the cause might
not be obvious. Consider a more 3D mechanism and how difficult seeing these erroneous
loading would be to spot at the results processing stage of the project.
For this reason, it is important to identify where these loads are coming from. One logical
step might be to manually edit the loads from COSMOSMotion to remove the out-of-plane
loads that shouldnt have been there in the first place.
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Out of plane round-offloads removed from model
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Connecting Rod is still bending in a strange way so there
must be something else creating an out-of-plane moment
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Note that the placement of the
remote load is on that outer
face of the part.
This corresponds to the joint
location in COSMOSMotion
Placement of the joint does
matter in many cases!
The real culprit is the placement of the remote load on the outer face of the part instead of
the center plane. This is creating the out of plane bending in the part and is responsible for
a portion of the out-of-plane components that were part of the remote load definition. This
can be manually corrected in COSMOSWorks but it is cleaner and more reliable to fix the
problem in COSMOSMotion.
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Proper J oint Placement in COSMOSMotion
Sketch added in SolidWorks at Center Plane of Connecting Rod
Original Connecting Rod Geometry
Part of the problem is that a J oint Location must be at a vertex or sketch point unless
geometry is chosen. When an edge or a face is chosen, the placement point is defined at
the center or midpoint of the entity. In this case, choosing the edge of a hole will place the
location at the center of the circle in the plane of the circle. Choosing the cylindrical face will
place the joint on the surface at the center of one of the halves. Neither of these
placements alleviates the out-of-plane problem. Consequently, you should anticipate
creating a sketch in your part that has a point correctly placed at the geometric center of
the hole. This point can be used for joint placement.
For this model, a configuration was created called Center Sketch and the feature was
added to that configuration only. This isnt required but it is a good way to keep analysis-
specific data out of your general design configuration.
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Proper J oint Placement in COSMOSMotion
A Revolute J oint was created for the rear-most connection to
tie down axial translation of the Conn Rod
By default, the Select Location field is filled out using the
center of the half-surface selected.
Correct Placement
Back in your assembly, make sure that youve updated the configuration of the part if
youve used that method. Now for the second step. As noted earlier, you cant edit the
properties of a Mate Defined J oint which means you cant change the placement of the joint
location. Your only option is to delete the offending joints and recreate them. Youll need
to delete your COSMOSMotion solution before you can proceed.
A Revolute joint is added to the back connection. By default, it is placed on the cylindrical
surface which, while in the center plane of the Connecting Rod, will still yield erroneous
results. To change this location, you need to click in the Location field on the form and
DELETE the current selection before selecting the center point on the sketch you added. If
you activate the field by clicking in it but dont delete the existing selection, it will not be
over-written by the new selection. Assuming this has caused many users (including myself)
problems.
Once the selection point is updated, dont forget to choose the FEA tab and select the load
bearing surfaces for transfer to COSMOSWorks.
Repeat this for the front hole using a Cylindrical J oint and solve the model again.
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Proper Load Definition in COSMOSWorks
Note that the Remote Loads are now properly placed in the geometric center of the holes
and the out-of-plane load components are orders of magnitude less than they were
previously.
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Proper Load Definition in COSMOSWorks
When properly defined, the COSMOSMotion loads produce the desired response in
COSMOSWorks and you can proceed to evaluating the part based on the results
calculated.
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Refining the Model
Can the holes in the Connecting Rod really take on the shape calculated?
Would the pin, shown as a dashed line, allow this deformation? (Remember, it is
shown at an exaggerated scale.)
Additionally, the model is unconstrained and relies on balanced loads and inertial
relief for numeric stability.
Can the COSMOSMotion data be used to define a more stable model?
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Refining the Model
Symmetry model used
No Penetration contact between pins & holes
Otherwise, this should be identical to prior study with a better
response in the holes.
No
Penetration
Contact
Restrained
12.0 N/4 = 3 N
8.79 m/s^2
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Refining the Model
Note the difference in the results near the hole in direct comparison. Since the Remote
Load is applied to the entire hole, it is pullingas well as pushing. This is why the outside
of the hole is unrealistically flat. In the contact model, the load is concentrated as
compression on the inside of the hole and provide a more realistic response. The stress
levels in the top member are nearly 50% different but the field distribution is similar.
Whats the trade off? The full model using the Remote Loads from COSMOSMotion took
almost no time to set up once the loads were imported. The contact model took 2-3 tries to
fine tune the technique for a total time of about an hour. IF you are looking at trend
information for improving the design, the model directly from COSMOSMotion might suffice.
Either way you approach the problem, getting the loads from COSMOSMotion was a critical
first step. What you do afterwards depends on what you are trying to get out of the model.
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Presentation Summary
In this COSMOS Companion unit, we reviewed:
How to inspect Motion set-up for proper load transfer
How to correct joint locations
Techniques for refining your model using the data from
COSMOSMotion
This concludes our discussion on using COSMOSMotion loads in COSMOSWorks. This
should build on the basic procedures you learned in your Intro to COSMOSWorks course.
The most important concept reviewed in this session was that the creation method and
placement of J oints has a definite impact on the loads that are transferred into
COSMOSWorks. For simple systems, it is likely you would have noticed there was a
problem and could have gotten help to find a solution if it wasnt apparent to you. However,
as your models get more complex, it would have been difficult to differentiate erroneous
responses from actual ones. This is why it is important that you visually inspect your joint
placement in COSMOSMotion and correct any joints that dont appear correct. J oints can
be misplaced in multiple directions depending on your geometry selection so keep that in
mind when reviewing your model.
Finally, we showed with a simple example how the load transfer method to
COSMOSWorks, involving Remote Loads, might not give you the local response a
complete system model might provide. You need to review the deformed shapes and
determine if model refinement is necessary. Using the load magnitudes and orientations
calculated by COSMOSMotion is still a huge benefit even if you need to perform some
rework on your model.
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Conclusion
For more information
Contact your local reseller for more in-depth training or
support on using Motion or transferring loads to
COSMOSWorks or to discuss modeling techniques
Review the on-line help for a more detailed description of the
features discussed
Attend, or better yet, present at a local COSMOS or
SolidWorks user group.
See http://www.swugn.org/ for a user group near you
Id like to thank you for taking the time to join in this edition of the COSMOS
Companion. If you have utilizes COSMOSMotion loads in COSMOSWorks, you
may want to review some of those models for the joint placement issues we
discussed in this presentation.
I encourage you to talk thru your model setup and share any questions you might
have on the integration of COSMOSMotion and COSMOSWorks with the support
team at your local reseller and take advantage of their experience in using these
tools. If you have time, you should also read thru the on-line help topics on the
various joints and load transfer options for more detail on some of these concepts.
Finally, I hope you have a chance to get involved in a local COSMOS user group.
This is one of the best vehicles for sharing and learning from the experience of
others who face the same challenges as you. You can locate a local COSMOS
group on the SolidWorks User Group network website shown. If there arent any
COSMOS groups near you, get involved in your local SolidWorks groups and
introduce some COSMOS related topics to foster some discussion on design
analysis and validation.
Thanks again for your time and interest and I look forward to seeing you next time
on the COSMOS Companion.

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