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Applying Gravity And Remote Mass

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WIBSTR

Mechanical
Mar 3, 2009
1
Hi everyone,

I have a question about applying forces to a COSMOSWorks model in Solidworks 2008. Specifically, I am trying to apply both gravity, as well as a remote mass - and running a static test to find deflection.

The model is of a rectangular frame - made up of 5 rectangular plates - one side of which is fixed, and the other side of which is supporting a heavy mass (motor). A couple of images that should describe what I'm doing are here:

Picture 1: Picture 2:
Constraints:
The left plate of the frame is completely constrained.

Applying gravity:
Gravity will act at a 45 degree angle to the axis of the frame, so I have selected the top surface of the top frame plate (shown in blue in picture 1), and applied 6.9 N/m^2 down, and 6.9 N/m^2 to the left. (6.9 = 9.81 * cos(45))
Is applying gravity to just this one surface sufficient to take into account the deflection due to the weight of every side of the frame? Or do I have to apply gravity to each part separately?

Applying Remote Mass:
I don't much care about the deflection of the motor, so I am trying to model it as a remote mass. Where I get confused is in the settings under the "Treat as Remote Mass" tab. Essentially, all I want to say is that there is a 22 lb weight acting on the backside of the frame - with all of the associated forces and moments that come from it.
So - what does selecting "Apply Force/Moment at CG" do, and what should the settings be under that tab? Can I just mess around with the density of the motor material until I get a suitable mass, and leave it at that?


I hope I've been clear with my description, and I'll be sure to answer any questions if I have not. Thanks so much for your help.
 
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