Adaptive Spring

[shift1313]

I know this topic has come up before but someone recently asked me about this in Inventor 2011. I can draw an assembly with a spring that updates based on position in SW very easily but inventor seems to fight this in an Assembly. I know Dynamic Simulation has springs but I am speaking specifically about an Assembly where you can move one part and have the spring update.

 

In solidworks I create the spring by creating my assembly parts and using the geometry as references(adaptive in Inventor), but the issue is how the spring is created. In SW it can be done with a sweep operation and a straight line while twisting along path(the line is created by projecting faces or edges from the two end parts in the assembly). Inventor seems to only want to use the Coil operation who's end condition can't rely on other geometry. So other than drawing a cylinder, drawing a 2d path and projecting it around the cylinder to sweep, is there a way to model a spring so that it can rely on other components in an assembly and therefore update as long as its kept adaptive?

 

Sorry I dont have an example to post but the question(hopefully) is more conceptual on the proceedure.

 

Thanks

[MarkFlayler]

I have my video for this finished, but my tutorial is in the writing phase.

 

 

I have an older tutorial I am basing this off of, but it has some bad practices in it.

[shift1313]

Great video mark and thats what I was thinking. I told him it would probably be controlled through parameters. The end result is the same but its just a little quicker to setup in SW.

[Hopinc]

Hi Mark,

 

Very interesting and informative, I learnt a few things that are both new and useful to me. Just one point though - when your springs contract and expand the top and bottom "fixed" plates move up and down, not the damper?

 

In reality the motion of the damper would be far more complex than just up and down. I guess that's asking just a bit too much :-)

 

Regards.

 

Dave

[MarkFlayler]

Yeah that was me tightening the nuts but I should have move the dampener instead. Wasn't the focus of the exercise.

[Hopinc]

No, I realised that.

 

Thanks for answering this question for me. I had tried to achieve this effect myself without success.

 

Cheers.

 

Dave

[JD Mather]

I use an easier technique that does not require Adaptivity and is more similar to the SWx method.

And as an iPart the spring can be used in any assembly.

I will post an example when I get a chance.

Edited August 4, 2010 by JD Mather

[Hopinc]

I look forward to that JD.

 

Regards.

 

Dave