Import CAD Assemblies in SpaceClaim and Simulate using SC-Motion

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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

Dynamic Simulation of Backhoe in SpaceClaim using SC-Motion

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SpaceClaim has a distinct advantage that it can import and export files of almost all CAD formats. This lets us import CAD assemblies already available at websites like GrabCAD and use it in SpaceClaim. In this tutorial, we have done the following:

  1. Imported a Solidworks assembly of Backhoe mechanism in SpaceClaim, which we got from GrabCAD.com (By Babak)
  2. Defined Assembly Conditions/Constraints between different parts
  3. Start SC-Motion inside SpaceClaim, which is a completely integrated addin for motion and dynamic simulation.
  4. Brief overview of SC-Motion user interface
  5. Set Joint Translation (Simple Harmonic Motion) to three linear actuators
  6. Set/View Mass and Inertia properties of parts (The tutorial was recorded for SpaceClaim2011, which did not expose mass and inertia properties through its API for us. The values were entered manually. Starting from SpaceClaim 2012 version, they have been exposed. So, in SC-Motion 2012 version, these values are populated automatically, which can be modified for a manual input.
  7. Define Gravity for dynamic simulation
  8. Perform Dynamic Simulation and see the animation.
  9. View and analyse plots of the forces required at the actuators to achieve this motion (This is called inverse dynamics). By doing so, we can get an idea of the maximum force that is required at each actuator and accordingly suitable actuator from the market can be used in actual.

We hope the tutorial would be useful for people to get started with Dynamic Simulation inside SpaceClaim.

 The video tutorial can be downloaded here

Assembly Modeling and Motion Simulation in SpaceClaim

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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

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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.