This example of a 3-point bending test serves to show how SOLIDWORKS Simulation requires considerations to provide model stability and methods to provide that stability. In this setup, two rectangular bodies are created as supports with fixtures applied to their bottom faces and a single point load applied in the center of the top of the bar. A 'No Penetration' contact is applied between the bar and the two supports such that the force pushes the bar into the supports and is bent.
In SOLIDWORKS Simulation, you can display results in plots and graphs. However, it can sometimes be difficult to interpret these plots as there could be many data points that are close to each other. This article will discuss three quick ways to zoom in on your SOLIDWORKS Simulation graph or plots to better view hard to interpret regions.
Submodeling in SOLIDWORKS Simulation is a powerful technique to capture boundary conditions from a parent static study and run a more refined study on a much smaller area as a “Submodel” study. However, there is a stringent list of requirements for this to work as follows:
SOLIDWORKS Simulation users often call into our tech support line needing advice as to why their model is not stable. In many cases, they have deleted their Global Contact condition or changed it from its default setting of bonded to no penetration. Most of the time this is not necessary.
After installing SOLIDWORKS on a new computer, there are a lot of unknown files and tools that come as part of the installation package that can be handy in certain situations. The SOLIDWORKS Simulation Cleaning utility is one of these.
The file size of a simulation study result can be quite large, especially when performing a multistep study like transient thermal, nonlinear, or linear dynamic. Fortunately, there is a way to reduce the file size of SOLIDWORKS Simulation results, so that they don't take up as much space on your computer.
SOLIDWORKS Simulation 2017 gave users the ability to take an existing static study and create a new nonlinear or linear dynamic study by copying their existing static study to one of those study types. If the simulation setup is valid, then all boundary conditions and loads will be copied straight over to the new study. If any loads or boundary conditions fail to copy over to the new study due to limitations in the software, then a warning will pop up.
When a SOLIDWORKS part file, multibody part file, or assembly fails to mesh, there are a series of troubleshooting steps we can take. Failed mesh usually occurs due to one of three reasons. The mesh can fail for broken or interfering geometry. Use Tools > Evaluate > Check to test for sliver faces, or invalid faces or edges.