Weight simulation

[JMagnus]

Hey guys,

I'm sure there is something a lot more simple out there or even a thread that I can't seem to find but here goes:

I have a hand truck with a 500lb oven on it, and I want to see if my flooring will be able to handle the weight and if there will be any deflection in the flooring. the flooring is raised up 1.5" off the basic structure and not completely supported. I want to see the points that aren't supported on a weight simulation of just plain linear gravity on the weak spots.

A very basic tutorial would be appreciated, can't use youtube because it is blocked here at work.

Thanks,
Magnus

 

[JohnRBaker]

If there's no dynamic forces involved, I would start with a simple 'free-body diagram'. You can probably find several sites on the web that'll help you with how to set-up free-body diagrams and how to use them for problems like yours.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Digital Factory
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[JMagnus]

John,

All I can find is someone trying to sell me femap.

I had a siemens software engineer show me how to do it to show the load on springs way back in NX7.5.

I'm currently on NX9, and was just trying to figure out how the guy showed me way back. I remember having to input a mass in the expressions and then some formula, and then we ran the test and it showed how much the springs would squish under a load of say 400lbs.

If there is an easier way to do it now, and they just made it a button for NX9 whichever button that may be would be nice. I tried motion simulator, advanced simulator and I can't seem to find out how to use the buttons because they all gray out when I switch roles and start menu option.

Thanks for any help,
-Magnus

 

[JohnRBaker]

Could you at provide at least a picture of what you're attempting to model? I still think that using NX, or for that matter, any 3D CAD system, for something like this might be overkill as it sounds like a simple 2D force diagram or 'free-body diagram', could do the job for you.

BTW, this isn't some student project is it? I got burned recently helping what turned out to be a student who was trying to do a homework assignment and couldn't reach his instructor over the weekend. We had to 'Red Flag' the entire thread and have it removed since helping students with class work is strictly verboten on Eng-Tips.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Digital Factory
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[JMagnus]

yeah I'm just a designer, and engineers do all the calculations. I work on NX 10 hours a day and was just curious if I could make the program do some cool stuff. I found the exercise that I did before with springs and it was more or less just a calculation, not a stress analysis.

It's not really a big deal, that's not something we do here anyway, just wanted to see if I could do it in some of my free time. Thanks for your help though!

 

[JohnRBaker]

Working on NX 10 hours a day... When exactly do you have any 'free time'?

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Digital Factory
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.