MSC SimDesigner™

R3 CATIA® V5R17 Edition

SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide

Main Index
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Main Index
 Contents
SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide

1 SimDesigner Motion Flex Reference

Welcome to SimDesigner Motion Flex 2

About Exporting 3

About Flexible Bodies 4

Where to Use Flexible Bodies 4
Where to Use Flexible Bodies with Care 4

Activating a Flexible Body 5

Automatically Creating Virtual Parts 7

Modeling Flexible Bodies 8

Stress/Deformation History 9

Reviewing Results 10

Starting and Licensing SimDesigner Motion Flex 11

Supported Forces and Joints 12

Theory of Flexible Bodies 14

2 SimDesigner Motion Flex Examples

Flexible Body Tutorial 16
Defining the Motion Model 16
Exporting a Part to SimDesigner Structures Workbench 19
Performing a Modal Analysis 22
Making a Part Flexible 22
Performing a Simulation 23
Reviewing the Results 24

Import Nastran Results Tutorial 25

Perform License setting 25
Export the Part to the Structure Workbench 26
Performing an Import Results 28

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 iv SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide

Making a Plank Part Flexible 28

Performing a Simulation of the Diving Board 29
Reviewing the Results of the Diving Board 29

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 Chapter 1: SimDesigner Motion Flex Reference
SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide

1 SimDesigner Motion Flex

Reference

J Welcome to SimDesigner Motion Flex

J
About Exporting
J
About Flexible Bodies
J Activating a Flexible Body
J
Automatically Creating Virtual Parts
J
Modeling Flexible Bodies
J Stress/Deformation History
J
Reviewing Results
J
Starting and Licensing SimDesigner Motion Flex
J Supported Forces and Joints
J Theory of Flexible Bodies

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 2 SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide
Welcome to SimDesigner Motion Flex

Welcome to SimDesigner Motion Flex

MSC SimDesigner™ SimDesigner Motion Flex software is an add-on module to SimDesigner Motion
Workbench that enables you to add flexible bodies to your models to achieve more realistic simulation
results. The SimDesigner Motion Flex online help explains how to add flexible bodies to the models you
build in SimDesigner Motion Workbench. It contains a tutorial, overview, and theory information on
integrating and managing flexible bodies.
The SimDesigner Motion Flex online help assumes that you know how to run SimDesigner Motion
Workbench and SimDesigner Structures Workbench. It also assumes that you have a moderate level of
finite element modeling proficiency. To use SimDesigner Motion Flex, you need access to SimDesigner
Structures Workbench so you can generate the modal flexibility data used by SimDesigner Motion
Workbench.
By integrating flexible bodies into your model, you can:
• Capture inertial and compliance properties during handling and comfort simulations.
• Predict loads with greater accuracy by allowing SimDesigner Motion Workbench to account for
flexibility during simulations.
• Study deformations.

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 Chapter 1: SimDesigner Motion Flex Reference 3
About Exporting

About Exporting
You can export a motion part to SimDesigner structures Workbench to compute modal flexibility results
(MNF) that you can then import back into SimDesigner Motion Workbench.

To Export to SimDesigner Structures Workbench:

From the specification tree, under the Motion branch, right-click the moving part, point to the part name,
and then select Export to Linear Structure.

For the option: Do the following:

Motion part to export If you launch the dialog box from:

• The specification tree, this text box is already filled in.

• The SD Motion menu, you must select a valid part
from the specification tree or the screen.
Document creation Do one of the following:

• Select to create a new CATAnalysis document.

• Use an existing CATAnalysis document to which to
append a new frequency loadcase.
CATAnalysis document Do one of the following:

• Enter a name for a CATAnalysis document.

• Browse for an existing document.

For detailed steps on defining the FE model, see the Generative Structural Analysis documentation.

Note: The .mnf file that is exported is not compatible with Adams 2003, but is compatible with
Adams 2005. It can be modified for use with Adams 2003 outside of the MSC SimDesigner
environment.

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 4 SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide
About Flexible Bodies

About Flexible Bodies

SimDesigner Motion Flex uses an assumed modes method of modeling flexible bodies. This method of
representing flexible bodies is called modal flexibility. Modal flexibility assigns a set of mode shapes
(frequently eigenvectors) to a flexible body. The flexible body modeling element designates a system
state variable to each eigenvector and calculates the relative amplitude of each eigenvector during a time
analysis. The principle of linear superposition is then used to combine the mode shapes at each time step
to reproduce the total deformation of the flexible body.
This modal method of modeling flexibility can be very useful in problems that are characterized by high
elasticity and moderate deflections (deflections less than 10% of a characteristic length of the body).
Modal flexibility also provides a means of directly correlating flexibility results with finite element
analysis (FEA) results.

Where to Use Flexible Bodies

You should use flexible bodies wherever you expect component flexibility to affect the dynamic behavior
of your model or when you require accurate information about the deformations of a component in your
model. If you are a handling analyst who is concerned about the negative effects of component flexibility
or a component designer who is concerned about component strength and fatigue life, you can benefit
from the ability to very accurately model component flexibility.

Where to Use Flexible Bodies with Care

When you use flexible bodies, you should remember that flexible body deformations are a linear
combination of deformation shapes. Consequently, you must take special precautions when modeling
higher order deformations, such as those that occur when deformations are large, or when attempting to
correctly model centrifugal stiffening of rotating systems. You can overcome these limitations by
dividing a flexible body into multiple flexible bodies and creating individual parts with connectors
(bushings) joining the segments.

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 Chapter 1: SimDesigner Motion Flex Reference 5
Activating a Flexible Body

Activating a Flexible Body

You can activate flexibility in a SimDesigner Motion Workbench part by associating a CATAnalysis
document. The CATAnalysis document must have been used with SimDesigner Structures Workbench
and contains modal flexibility results for the part geometry. Frequency cases in the CATAnalysis
document will reference the Modal Neutral File (MNF) that Adams/Solver uses.

To Activate a Flexible Body:

• From the specification tree, right-click the moving part to make flexible, point to the name of the
part, and then select Activate Flexibility to go directly to the FEA tab on the Part Definition
dialog box.

For the option: Do the following:

Model Part as Flexible Select it if you want to activate all items in the tab.
CATAnalysis file Do one of the following:

• Enter the name and path of CATAnalysis file with MNF

results.
• Browse for the CATIA file.
Frequency Case Select one of the loadcases within the CATAnalysis file that contain
MNF data.

• Animation Visualization Mode Options:

For the option: Do the following:

Rigid Visualize flexible parts with their default CATIA representation
(CATPart documents).

Linear Visualize flexible parts with analysis images (CATAnalysis

stress/deformation documents).

Automatically Run "calculate stress" command automatically if needed when starting

calculate during an animation.
animation

To Swap a Flexible Body:

1. In the CATAnalysis file text box, browse for a different CATAnalysis.
2. In the Frequency Case text box, select the appropriate frequency case.

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 6 SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide
Activating a Flexible Body

To Disable a Flexible Body:

1. Clear the selection of Model Part as Flexible.
2. SimDesigner Motion Workbench saves the information on the flexible body, but it does not use
it for the simulation.

Note: You must generate the modal frequency case by using the SimDesigner Motion Workbench
option to export to a linear structure. Otherwise, SimDesigner Structures Workbench does not
generate modal SimDesigner Motion Flex data when performing an analysis.

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 Chapter 1: SimDesigner Motion Flex Reference 7
Automatically Creating Virtual Parts

Automatically Creating Virtual Parts

When you select load-bearing surfaces, SimDesigner Motion Flex automatically creates virtual parts
during the Export to Linear Structure process.
If connections do not have any load-bearing geometry specified, the Export to Linear Structures process
alerts you and displays a list of such connections. You can then choose to Abort or Proceed. If you choose
to proceed, you must manually create virtual parts for the remaining connections.

To Automatically Create Virtual Parts:

1. Double-click the moving part icon to open the Moving Part Definition dialog box.
2. Select the Loads tab. By default, the first connection with no load-bearing geometry is selected.
3. Select one or more surfaces on the part geometry.
Feature names are displayed in the Load-bearing Geometry window.
4. Select other connections and repeat step 3 for all connections.
5. Select OK.
6. From the contextual menu of the moving part, select Export to Linear Structure.
The CATIA session is switched over to SimDesigner Structures Workbench.

Note: Before you can do anything in SimDesigner Structures Workbench, geometry must have
default mesh, material, and virtual parts.

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 8 SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide
Modeling Flexible Bodies

Modeling Flexible Bodies

The following shows the process of modeling flexible bodies.

An example process flow is covered in the Flexible Body Tutorial.

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 Chapter 1: SimDesigner Motion Flex Reference 9
Stress/Deformation History

Stress/Deformation History
With SimDesigner Motion Flex, you can calculate the stress/deformation history of a component.

To Calculate the Stress/Deformation History:

1. Simulate mechanism in SimDesigner Motion Workbench with flexible component, and then
generate motion simulation results.
2. Open the CATAnalysis document that the flexible component references.
3. Calculate the linear stress/deformation on the component by right-clicking on the center of mass
icon of a flexible part and selecting Calculate Stress.
4. Right-click <name_of_result>, and then select Set as Current Case.
5. Generate stress images by selecting the Von Mises Stress icon .
6. In the PSN, expand SimDesigner Motion Flex Transient Results.
7. Double-click Von Mises Stress (nodal values).
The Occurrences tab appears.
8. To see the stress contour at specific times during the simulation, select one row at a time from the
Occurrences tab.

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 10 SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide
Reviewing Results

Reviewing Results
SimDesigner Motion Flex extends the results you can already view in SimDesigner Motion Workbench.
To ensure that you can view the results, you must be sure to enable the option named Display Stress and
Deformation during Animation on any flexible body.
To create the stress and deflection results, you must animate the flexible body. Once you animate,
SimDesigner Motion Workbench stores the results in the CATAnalysis document for each flexible part.
You can animate flexible bodies to see flexible part deformation and stress during mechanism movement.

To Animate a Flexible Body:

• From the SD Motion menu, select SMO player.
If the player detects flex results for a moving part, it will replace the instance of the part in the
assembly with the CATAnalysis referenced by the flex body. The FEA results will then be
displayed for each time step.
You cannot directly modify the display of the FEA results (such as stress, deformation, or contour ranges)
in the SimDesigner Motion Workbench player. You can modify the display from the CATAnalysis
document. To learn about modifying the display, see the CATIA documentation for Generative Structural
Analysis.

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 Chapter 1: SimDesigner Motion Flex Reference 11
Starting and Licensing SimDesigner Motion Flex

Starting and Licensing SimDesigner Motion Flex

Start SimDesigner Motion Workbench and then start SimDesigner Motion Flex as explained next. Learn
about SimDesigner Motion Workbench.

To License SimDesigner Motion Flex from SimDesigner Motion Workbench:

1. From the Tools menu, select Options.
2. Select Digital Mockup / SimDesigner Motion Workbench.
3. Select the Licensing tab.
4. Select SimDesigner Motion Flex License.
5. Select OK.

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 12 SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide
Supported Forces and Joints

Supported Forces and Joints

The following tables list the forces and joints that you can apply directly to flexible bodies.

Forces Supported

The Force: Supported in Adams/Solver (C++):

BUSHING Yes
CONTACT No
JOINT FRICTION Yes*
TRANSLATIONAL SFORCE Yes
ROTATIONAL SFORCE Yes
TRANSLATIONAL SPRINGDAMPER Yes
ROTATIONAL SPRINGDAMPER Yes

* The joint's J marker (reference component) cannot be on a flexible body. (The floating marker cannot
be on a flexible body).

Joints Supported

The Joint: Supported in Adams/Solver (C++):

CONVEL Yes
CYLINDRICAL Yes
FIXED Yes
PLANAR Yes
RACKPIN Yes
REVOLUTE Yes
SCREW Yes
SPHERICAL Yes
TRANSLATIONAL Yes
UNIVERSAL Yes
GEAR Yes
COUPLER Yes
Curve-curve No
MOTION Yes

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 Chapter 1: SimDesigner Motion Flex Reference 13
Supported Forces and Joints

The Joint: Supported in Adams/Solver (C++):

Point-curve No
ATPOINT Yes
ORIENTATION
PARALLEL_AXES
PERPENDICULAR
INLINE
INPLANE

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 14 SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide
Theory of Flexible Bodies

Theory of Flexible Bodies

For theoretical background on SimDesigner Motion Flex, see the following references:
• For a detailed derivation of the SimDesigner Motion Workbench model flexibility method, see
the technical paper, Theoretical Background.
• For flexibility in multibody applications, refer to Shabana, A. A. Dynamics of Multibody
Systems, Second Edition. John Wiley &Sons. 1998.
(http://www.bestbookbuys.com/cgi-bin/bbb.cgi?ISBN=0521594464)
• For general information on modal methods for structural dynamics, refer to Craig, R.R.
Structural Dynamics: An Introduction to Computer Methods. John Wiley & Sons. 1981.
(http://www.bestbookbuys.com/cgi-bin/bbb.cgi?ISBN=0471044997)

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 Chapter 2: SimDesigner Motion Flex Examples
SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide

2 SimDesigner Motion Flex

Examples

J Flexible Body Tutorial

J
Import Nastran Results Tutorial

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 16 SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide
Flexible Body Tutorial

Flexible Body Tutorial

In this tutorial, you will learn how to perform a flexible-body analysis.
The model you will use is the four-bar model provided with SimDesigner Motion Workbench. You can
find this model in the directory <install dir>\samples\4bar.

The mechanism consists of four assembly components, three moving links, and one grounded link.
Several assembly constraints exist between the component’s mating holes and side faces.

This tutorial takes about one and a half hours to complete.

Defining the Motion Model

To Display the Motion Model:
• From the 4bar folder in the MSC SimDesigner installation samples directory, open the file
Fourbar_tutorial.CATProduct.

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 Chapter 2: SimDesigner Motion Flex Examples 17
Flexible Body Tutorial

To Assign a Material to a Part:

1. In the specification tree, expand the Link3 part branch and double-click Link3 (to switch to part-
modification mode).

2. From the CATIA toolbar, select the Apply Material button .

3. Select the Metal tab, and then select Steel.
4. On the screen, verify that Link3 is still selected, and then select Apply Material.
5. Close the dialog box.
6. Double-click Product1 to switch back to assembly mode.

To Set the View Mode:

1. From the View menu, point to Render Style, and then select Customize View.
2. Select Material, and then select OK.

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 18 SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide
Flexible Body Tutorial

On the screen, you should see the part shaded as follows:

Next, you run the MSC SimDesigner shortcut to enable CATIA with the SimDesigner Motion
workbench.

To Set the SimDesigner Motion Workbench:

1. If your workbench is not already set to SimDesigner Motion Workbench (the SimDesigner
Motion button should be the first button displayed in the toolbar on the right), then activate the
SimDesigner Motion Workbench from Start -> Digital Mockup -> SimDesigner Motion
Workbench.
You access the SimDesigner Motion Workbench functionality from the SD Motion menu or from
the MSC SimDesigner toolbar.
2. To create the mechanism from the assembly constraints, from the SD Motion menu, select New
Mechanism.
3. To map constraints and generate the model, select OK.

To Define the Motion:

1. Double-click the cylindrical Joint.3 (from the specification tree or on the screen).

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 Chapter 2: SimDesigner Motion Flex Examples 19
Flexible Body Tutorial

2. Set Motion On to Rotate Z.

3. Set Motion Type to Acceleration.
4. Set Constant Value to 360 deg/sec2.

5. Select OK.
You can now generate the flexible body data and make Link3 flexible.

Exporting a Part to SimDesigner Structures Workbench

Before you export Link3, you will create virtual parts for Joint.5 and Joint.6.

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 20 SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide
Flexible Body Tutorial

To Create Virtual Parts:

1. Right-click the mass symbol for Link3, point to Link3.1 object, and then select Definition.
2. Select the Loads tab.
3. Select Joint.5.
4. In the modeling window, zoom in on Joint.5 and then select the inside cylinder.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for Joint.6. You might have to rotate the mechanism to be able to pick the
inside cylinder for Joint.6.
6. Select OK.

To Export the Part:

1. Right-click the mass symbol for Link3, point to Link3.1 object, and then select Export to
Linear Structure.

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 Chapter 2: SimDesigner Motion Flex Examples 21
Flexible Body Tutorial

A dialog box prompts you to select if you want to create a new analysis or use an existing one.
2. Select OK, to create a new analysis.
You will receive a message to create a virtual part for Joint.7. Because Joint.7 does not affect the
loading conditions, you do not need to create a virtual part for it.
3. Select Yes to continue.
4. Select SimDesigner Modal Analysis and then select OK.

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 22 SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide
Flexible Body Tutorial

Performing a Modal Analysis

You can now mesh and run the analysis.

Note: SimDesigner Motion Workbench creates a special setting on the frequency analysis case to
generate a modal flexibility neutral file (used by Adams/Solver), so that only by exporting a
part from SimDesigner Motion Workbench you will be able to generate the required results.
In the future, SimDesigner Structures Workbench may have the option to generate the MNF
in the settings for the analysis case.

To Perform a Modal Analysis:

1. From the SD Structures toolbar, at the right, select the Mesh and Compute button
2. Verify that the All option is selected.
3. Select OK.
• SimDesigner Structures Workbench meshes the model and performs the analysis.
4. Once the analysis is completed, in the specification tree, right-click:
• Nodes and Elements and then select Hide/Show.
• Properties.1 and then select Hide/Show.
5. Save the CATAnalysis using the default name.

Making a Part Flexible

To Make the SD Motion Part Flexible:
1. Use the Window menu to return to the assembly document.
2. Right-click the Link3 center-of-mass symbol, point to Link3.1 object, and then select Activate
Flexibility. Alternatively, you can double-click the center-of-mass symbol and then select the
FEA tab.

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 Chapter 2: SimDesigner Motion Flex Examples 23
Flexible Body Tutorial

3. Select the Browse button to the right of the Analysis Document text box, and then select the
file you just saved.
• The frequency case should be automatically displayed.
4. Select OK.

Performing a Simulation
To Perform a Simulation:
1. From the SD Motion menu, select Simulate.

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 24 SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide
Flexible Body Tutorial

2. Select Start to run the simulation using the default 1 second and 60 frames.
• A message dialog box appears when the simulation starts.
3. After the simulation has finished, close this dialog box.

Reviewing the Results

Because the motion icons do not move with the model, you can hide them by right-clicking the
SimDesigner Motion Workbench branch in the specification tree, and then selecting Hide/Show.

To Review the Results:

1. From the SD Motion menu, select SMO Player.
If SimDesigner Motion Workbench detects that a flexible body was part of the simulation, it
computes the stress results from the analysis, and then stores the results in the CATAnalysis file.
It then caches the stress values for each frame and allows you to animate with the values
displayed.
The animation player appears and you should see a meshed part replace the rigid link3 part.
2. To see how stress varies as the mechanism moves, select Play .

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 Chapter 2: SimDesigner Motion Flex Examples 25
Import Nastran Results Tutorial

Import Nastran Results Tutorial

In this tutorial, you will learn how to Import of Nastran mesh & results from xdb for flex scenario.
The model that you will use is a diving board model provided with SimDesigner Motion Workbench. You
can find this model in the directory <install dir>\samples\diving_board.CATProduct.

The mechanism consists of three assembly components, three moving links, and two grounded parts.
Several assembly constraints exist between the components' mating faces.

This tutorial takes about one hour to complete.

Perform License setting

To Perform License Setting:
1. Click Tool from the main menu and select Option to display the Options dialog.
2. Select Analysis and Simulation, click the SimDesigner Licensing.
3. Switch off the Composites (SCP).

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 26 SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide
Import Nastran Results Tutorial

4. Click OK.

Export the Part to the Structure Workbench

To Export the Part to the Structure Workbench:
1. Right-click the mass symbol for Plank, point to Plank object, and then select Export to Linear
Structure.

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 Chapter 2: SimDesigner Motion Flex Examples 27
Import Nastran Results Tutorial

2. A dialog box prompts you to select if you want to create a new analysis.

3. Select the SimDesigner Static Analysis case.

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 28 SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide
Import Nastran Results Tutorial

Performing an Import Results

To Perform an Import Results:
1. From the SD Gateway toolbar, at the right, select the Import Results button
2. Select the Unit System SI-m-N-K.
3. Select Data Type Mesh and Result.
4. Select the dboard.xdb file using Browse Button
5. Click OK.
6. Save the CATAnalysis using the default name.

Note: A file named dboard.mnf must exist in the same directory as the dboard.xdb file in order to
be used with flexible bodies. If the file is not present, the flexbody analysis will not work.

Making a Plank Part Flexible

To Make the SD Motion Part Flexible:
1. Use the Window menu to return to the assembly document.
2. Right-click the Plank center-of-mass symbol, point to Plank object, and then select Activate
Flexibility. Alternatively, you can double-click the center-of-mass symbol and then select the
FEA tab.

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 Chapter 2: SimDesigner Motion Flex Examples 29
Import Nastran Results Tutorial

3. Select the Browse button to the right of the Analysis Document text box, and then select the
file you just saved.
4. Select OK.

Performing a Simulation of the Diving Board

To Perform a Simulation:
1. From the SD Motion menu, select Simulate.
2. Select Start to run the simulation using the default 1 second and 40 frames.
• A message dialog box appears when the simulation starts.
3. After the simulation has finished, close this dialog box.

Reviewing the Results of the Diving Board

The motion icons do not move with the model,hence you can hide them by right-clicking the
SimDesigner Motion Workbench branch in the specification tree, and then selecting Hide/Show.

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 30 SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide
Import Nastran Results Tutorial

To Review the Results:

1. From the SD Motion menu, select SMO Player.
If SimDesigner Motion Workbench detects that a flexible body was a part of the simulation, it
computes the stress results from the analysis, and then stores the results in the CATAnalysis file.
It then caches the stress values for each frame and allows you to animate with the values
displayed.
The animation player appears and you should see a meshed part replace the Plank part.
2. To see how stress varies as the mechanism moves, select Play .

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 Chapter 2: SimDesigner Motion Flex Examples 31
Import Nastran Results Tutorial

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 32 SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide
Import Nastran Results Tutorial

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 MSC.Fatigue Quick Start Guide

Index Index
SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide

Index
A J
Activating Joints supported, 12
flexible body, 5
SimDesigner Motion Workbench, 16, 27
L
Licensing SimDesigner Motion Flex Workbench,
C 11
Calculating stress/deformation history, 9
CATAnalysis document, 10
M
Making SMO part flexible, 22
D MNF, generating, 3, 5
Defining Modal neutral file, about, 5
FE, 3 Modeling flexible bodies, 8
motion model, 16, 27
P
E Part
Exporting SimDesigner Structures Linear Workbench,
SimDesigner Structures Linear Workbench, 3 exporting to, 3
Part Definition dialog, 5

F
Finite element modeling, 2 R
Flexible bodies Results
about, 4 SimDesigner Motion Flex Workbench extends,
activating, 5 10
modeling, 8 SimDesigner Motion Workbench stores, 10
theory, 14 Reviewing results, 24, 29
Flexible body tutorial, 16
Forces supported, 12
Frequency case, 5 S
SimDesigner Motion Flex Workbench
results, 10
G starting and licensing, 11
Generative Structural Analysis, 3 uses, 2
SimDesigner Motion Workbench, activating
flexibility in, 5

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 34 SimDesigner Motion Flex Guide

Simulation, performing, 23, 29

Starting SimDesigner Motion Flex Workbench, 11
Stress/deformation history, calculating, 9
Supported forces and joints, 12

T
Theory of flexible bodies, 14

V
Virtual parts, creating automatically, 7

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