Finite Element Analysis (FEA)

You have an answer on your private message file.

How about posting here so we can all see the solution!

If you have Cosmos with your Solidworks you should be able to do some simple analysis there.

Also, I believe you only need to model the elements you are analysing. You apply everything to it in the software??? Am I wrong???

yea i've tried using cosmos but i have a problem. i used bolts, nuts and washers from toolbox but i need to assign materials to them, but i cant see or figure out how to do this in assembly. ive tried google but nothing!! even vids on youtube.

also does anyone know how i can apply a preload on the bolts in solidworks? or if it is even possible to do this?

Are you trying to analyse the assembly with modelled bolts and everything?

I'm not up on my Cosmos, but considering you only want to analyse the one member then, to keep it simple, you should apply your constraints and loads to only that member in the FEA.

As far as applying materials (going from memory) you have the option of choosing one in the properties or adjusting the material specifics. When you pick steel it applies the basic properties of steel. My SW is at home and the one for here hasn't arrived yet. Otherwise or I would give you direct menu guidance.

As gdevine said, open just the part you want to run fea on in solidworks (no bolts, no assemblies). Then assign whatever material it is that you want to use, adjust properties, create custom materials, etc. If you wait until you are in cosmos express to assign a material, you will only get the list of materials and can not modify individual properties for those materials.

If there are certain loads that are being applied at oblique angles, create planes perpendicular to those forces and save the file. Addittionally, if bolt loads are tensile, not shear, read the paragraph below on restraints before starting cosmos express.

Next from tools, select cosmos express (assuming you have the appropriate level of sw licensing). When the dialogue pops up, click options, then set your units of measurement (check or leave unchecked max and min, it's up to you) and click ok. When material pops up, the material you set previously should be highlighted already, so you can just click apply and next. If you didn't select a material, you can select a default material and hit apply before going to the next tab.

When restraints comes up, clcik next or you can follow the hyperlink for help files. At this point you can use the default name for the restraint or call it something you will recognize like "hole1". Now click on the cylindrical surface of the bolt hole itself if one or more forces will be a shear force on the bolt. You can select mutliple holes or one at a time. If you accidentally click a surface you do not want, click it again to deselect it. When you are finished click next. You can now add another restraint and follow the process again or just click next to move onto the load tab. If the forces on the bolt holes are tensile instead of shear, a trick I use is to create a .0001 deep counter bore or boss on the surface where the bolt head or washer will be (before starting cosmos express). This creates another surface that I can select as a restraint that represents a more accurate depiction of what is really occurring.

On the loads tab click next then select force as your type of load. Select the surface for applying the load to then click normal to a reference plane (if your load is at an angle other than perpendicular to the surface you selected). Select the plane you created and use the flip direction box to determine the direction of force, fill in the value, and hit next. Then add another load or click next again.

On the analyse tab you can either hit next and leave the defaults or change the density of your grid in settings. Then click next, then click run. Now you can pick a safety factor and click show me or blow by this point by clciking next. If you do not intend to make changes to the model on the fly, you can select no for "optimze this design". Leaving it at yes will allow you to set limits for bending, safety factor, max load, and select a dimension you want to modify. This will alter your model by addingd or reducing material to the dimension you selected to meet those standards. So for now select no. Then pick the type of info you want to view and click next. Once viewed, you can hit next again and select a different type, or create an html report or edrawing of the results.

I've used the low end version of algor before, but I do not have the high dollar seat of alogor available to me. Depending on what license of algor you have, you may be able to run the entire assembly at one, analyse motion, etc. But if it is not the more expensive stand alone seat and this is included in another modeling package (such as alibre) you may have to run fea on individual components same as cosmos express.