to open
aw_anchor_plate.sldprt (or browse
to <install_dir>\samples\tutorial\cosmosxpress\aw_anchor_plate.sldprt).The anchor plate part of the DE-STA-CO Clamp.375.r assembly is made of Nylon 6/10 plastic. The plate is supported at its four holes. A force is transmitted to the anchor plate by the bar component. You want to find out the maximum force that the anchor plate can support while maintaining a factor of safety of 3.0.
Click here to open
aw_anchor_plate.sldprt (or browse
to <install_dir>\samples\tutorial\cosmosxpress\aw_anchor_plate.sldprt).
The following are guidelines on how to find the maximum force:
Assign Nylon 6/10 from the solidworks materials database under Plastics.
Restrain the four holes of the plate. Use one restraint set that contains the four faces.
Apply a force of 350 lbs. to the face that contacts the bar component. Instead of 350 lbs., you can apply any other reasonable magnitude. Let us call the force you applied F.
Since design analysis uses approximate methods
that include extensive numerical calculations, using extremely small or
extremely large magnitudes of loads can lead to losing accuracy due to
machine precision.
Analyze the part using default settings.
After completing the analysis, COSMOSXpress lists the minimum factor of safety. Suppose that this factor is m. This means that the anchor plate will start yielding if we change the magnitude of the force from F to mxF.
Based on a factor of safety of 3.0, the maximum force that the anchor plate can safely support is mxF/3.0.
The figure below shows the stress distribution in the anchor plate based on a load of 350 lbs.
In normal working conditions, the force on
the anchor plate is induced by a force applied to the handle. It is more
realistic to ask about the maximum force that we can safely apply on the
handle. COSMOSXpress cannot answer this question properly because it does
not support the analysis of assemblies. When isolating a part from an
assembly for analysis, it is difficult to represent the proper load and
support conditions. COSMOSWorks supports the analysis of assemblies and
therefore you can analyze the whole assembly by applying a force to the
handle.