Visibility toolbar > Show Force Vectors

Click icons or text to link to commands

Click icons or text to link to commands

This button has two states.

Icon-ForceDisplay-ON

Visibility toolbar > Show Force Vectors

Icon-ForceDisplay-OFF

Visibility toolbar > Hide Force Vectors

Menu:

Add menu > Forces sub-menu > Display 'Force Vectors'

What to do:
1.Click Visibility Toolbar > Show Force vectors

Result:

Force-Vectors

•Vectors Colours:  each vector acts on a Point in a Part of which the Part-Outline has the same colour.
•Vector Symbol: arrows with the value of the force at the arrow-head.
•Vector Location: radiate (a line ray) from Points at Joints, Cam Contacts(‡), Gear Contacts belt paths, and Spring anchor-points.
•Vector Direction: instantaneous direction of the Force
•Vector Length: proportional to the magnitude of the Force

You can change the length of Force-Vectors with the Force and Torque Vector scaling buttons, in the Feedback-Area.

Balancing-Moment / Torques (†)

•Moment Location: at Pin-Joints with Rotary Motors†
•Moment Length: proportional to the magnitude of the balance moment to make sure the kinematic-chain remains in kinematic equilibrium
•Moment Direction: in the direction (clockwise or counter-clockwise) of the balance moment

Motor-Force

•Force Location: at Slide-Joints or Springs with Linear Motors†
•Force Length: proportional to the magnitude of the force to make sure the kinematic-chain remains in kinematic equilibrium
•Force Direction: in the direction of the balance force to keep the mechanism in equilibrium.

‡ Use the Configure Power Source dialog-box to make the cam become the Power-Source of the cam-follower.

† Although we show a Motor Symbol, we do not immediately assign inertia or a gearbox to the motor. Therefore, the Moments/Torques are the Kinetostatic Moment/Torques that simply keep the kinematic-chain in equilibrium.

To add a motor and gearbox, and calculate the motor torque, see Kinetostatic Motor and Speed dialog.

Part and Vector colours

•The colour of each Part-Outline changes to a new, random colour.
•The Force Vectors that act on a Part are the same colour of its Part-Outline.
•To identify the force vectors that ACT ON a Part, hover above a Part-Outline. The Part-Outline AND the Force Vectors that act on the Part become Red.

In the Configure Power Source dialog, you can for each Part:

•Change the colour of the Force-Vector and Part-Outline
•Show or display the Force Vector

Power Source and Motor Location

In the default case a Motor [Rotary or Linear] will act at the joint that has a Motion-Dimension FB.

Use the Configure Power Source dialog-box to move the Motor to a different Joint, a 2D-Cam, a Gear-Pair or a Spring

Notes:

To show Forces-Vectors:

1.Force toolbar >Calculate Forces
2.Visibility toolbar > Display Forces
3.A minimum of one kinematically-defined chain
4.A minimum of one Part has mass[kg]- see Cad-Line dialog-box > Mass Properties
5.Display Part-Outlines
6.To show the Total Force and the Forces in to the X– and Y–axis directions, you can connect a Force-Data FB to a Graph-FB. You must link the Force-Data FB to a Joint AND the Point on which the Force acts.

You can also use the Cam Display and Properties dialog to show Cam Contact Force at each point along a cam track.

See Also: Kinetostatic Torque and Speed dialog Calculate Forces,

Tutorial and Reference Help Files for MechDesigner and MotionDesigner 13.2 + © Machine, Mechanism, Motion and Cam Design Software by PSMotion Ltd