CAD Modeling

Hello once again readers, today is going to be my final post about CAD modeling. Today we are going to look at an extension of what I talked about yesterday, making your CAD models buildable. This time however, we will be using SolidWorks to see if your part can do what you want it to do by stress testing (applying force to the object to test its strength). We will be using the Simulation Xpress with SolidWorks that operates with "fixtures that secure your object on one place, and secondly forces where pressure will be applied to your part." (Tickoo location 3129)
Before going straight into the simulation first I went to the book SolidWorks 2014: A Tutorial Approach and checked to see what it said about common mistakes while stress testing. It says "... remember that SimulationXpress Analysis Wizard only works on single parts and not whole assemblies... also make sure to only use it when an entire surface has a force exerted on it"(Tickoo location 3140)


By stress testing we are able to see if the part is strong enough to withstand the forces that it will have to be put through while on a robot. As you can see (if you squint hard enough) the deformation scale on the part above is 123.505. According to the von Mises stress scale this part is 40X stronger then the load that it will have to lift making it easily strong enough for its job.

Now look at an example of a part that would not work on a robot. The part above is 3X stronger then the load it needs to lift so we will have no problems with it snapping or breaking. However if you look at how much the part is bending you can see that it will bend too far for what it needs to do as the top notches need to stay pointing upwards and not outward as far as they are.
My question today is: When have you had something that breaks immediately after receiving it.

Works Cited
Tickoo, Sham. SolidWorks 2014: A Tutorial Approach. Schereville: CADCIM Technologies, 2014. Kindle eBook.

A/N: Yes I know the pictures are not showing up.