Exploring a software application to simulate rigid bodies to have fast conceptual designs

Abstract

There are various software tool applications to design and simulate the operation of a product. However, knowing its capabilities and scope helps us make computational resources more efficient, decrease learning times, and reduce savings in purchasing licenses. This work presents the experiences obtained when using a software tool application to generate conceptual designs of prototype mechanisms, in which it was required to simulate their movements quickly and easily without investing too much time in learning to use said tool application. Through three case studies, the advantages and disadvantages of the software application explored are shared. With the first case study, the alternative of using a single sketch to model the side view of a prototype thoroughly was evaluated. The second case study analyzed the types of restrictions necessary to make assemblies and generate the movement simulation. The third case study evaluated the possibility of representing the force of gravity and creating the effect of contacts between moving solids. Among some of the results obtained is that the software tool application explored 1) allows the use of a single sketch to generate the side views of a prototype, 2) the assembly restrictions are the same as those used to generate a simulation of movement, which facilitates its definition and 3) the effect of the force of gravity can be obtained through the use of different assembly constraints. At the beginning of the article, an introduction is presented about the topics related to the simulation of rigid bodies; subsequently, the restrictions that can be represented in the software tool application explored are identified, then the three case studies used are described, and finally, the conclusions and future work are mentioned.

Keywords: Rigid Body Simulation, Rocker-Bogie Suspension, Fast Conceptual Designs

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1004262