Import CAD Assemblies in SpaceClaim and Simulate using SC-Motion

GrabCAD is a very good resource to share CAD models and is a bliss for engineers like us. Most of the CAD files we deal at AR-CAD are the assembly files which have some motion in them. Of late, we have been using a lot of their models in our work. In this tutorial we do the following:

  1. Import IC Engine (Slider Crank) CAD file (STEP format) inside SpaceClaim, which is a CAD neutral software.
  2. Rearrange SpaceClaim assembly slightly to make it more logical assembly.
  3. Define Assembly Conditions/Constraints between different Components (parts)
  4. Rotate the crank in SpaceClaim using Move command and see the movement of the mechanism. The piston goes up and down.
  5. Start SC-Motion and define rotation at the crank
  6. Perform Motion Simulation and see the animation.

We are grateful to Hardi Meybaum and Indrek Narusk who co-founded GrabCAD as an awesome platform for CAD Engineers/Designers :)

 The video tutorial can be downloaded here

Assembly Modeling and Motion Simulation in SpaceClaim

SpaceClaim is a very good software for modeling and is a pioneer in Direct Modeling. Since SpaceClaim 2010 version, it has assembly constraints/conditions using which parts can be modeled into an assembly. The best part about SpaceClaim assembly is the ease with which one can restructure the assembly tree. Once can literally drag and drop solids from one part to another and similarly parts can be dragged and dropped between different sub-assemblies.

Another plus point of SpaceClaim assembly is the way one can move around a particular part and see the effect of its movement on the whole assembly. This can be useful for basic kinematic analysis to determine if the assembly is working as expected or not.

Of all the tutorials(video!) we have watched, we hardly found a set of tutorials which cover creation of a simple SpaceClaim assembly from scratch. We have gone ahead and made the below three video tutorials for people to get started with Assembly modeling in SpaceClaim. The third tutorial in particular is on using SC-Motion, which is a motion and dynamic simulation addin for SpaceClaim.

1) How to model parts in SpaceClaim in an assembly, from scratch ? We have taken example of a Slider-crank mechanism.

2) How to define Assembly Conditions/Constraints between the parts ?

3) Motion and Dynamic Simulation of SpaceClaim assembly using SC-motion.

We hope that watching all the above tutorials would help people to understand the SpaceClaim assembly modeling.

The video tutorials can be downloaded here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

SC-Motion: Motion and Dynamic Simulation Addin for SpaceClaim


It has been some time since we released SC-Motion2012 for SpaceClaim 2012 version. One can perform kinematic and dynamic simulation on SpaceClaim assemblies, without going out of SpaceClaim to any third party software/addin. It works completely inside and works seamlessly within SpaceClaim.

An overview of SC-Motion2012 can be viewed below.

SC-Motion2012 can be downloaded for free and used for 30 days for evaluation. One can purchase a full version by contacting us or their SpaceClaim reseller.