FEA of a Lever

[bob992]

Hello,

I im trying to simulate a lever in pro E that pivots around a hole in the middle. My problem is it behaves as if the pivot is bonded and not as if it is free to rotate. I have specified the DOF for rotation as free but this makes no difference. Any help?

(Note: a load is applied at one end and a solid constraint at the other so the lever would not be free to rotate even if the pivot in the middle was working.)

 

[brep]

Sounds like this is a solid model (as opposed to beams/shells)? The 3 rotational degrees of freedom are not relevant in a 3d solid element model, only the 3 translational DOFs. You need to use a technique like a "spiderweb" of beams or rigid links to a central pivot point - onto which you apply the constraint. This technique should be explained in most FE texts.

(BTW Wildfire 5.0 adds "engineering" constraints such as "pin" and "ball" to make the job faster/easier)