What program for analysing an assembly?

[healthfreak912]

I have constructed a three part assembly that models a prosthetic. I would like to apply a load of 450 lbs to the model and run an analysis on the total assembly. How can I accomplish this? I currently have the student edition of Solidworks. Would I require another program or add on, such as Cosmos or the full version of Solidworks? Thank you for the help, I really appreciate it.

 

[Adalius]

Without knowing how your assemblies are put together, yes you should be able to analyze them in Cosmos, however Cosmosworks will only let you analyze individual parts. You *could* however analyze the assembly part by part if the forces are passed from one part to the next in a fairly straightforward manner.

 

[ShaggyPE]

Cosmosworks will only let you analyze individual parts

That is incorrect. You can absolutely analyze an assembly. The issue in the assembly might be designed in clearances that result in gaps in you model. You might have to change some dimensions to close those gaps. You will also need to define the contact type between those interface surfaces.

Now regarding the student edition, Perhaps that is what Adalius was referring to when he/she said parts only... don't know. But full license Cosmosworks can run assemblies. Maybe Adalius was talking about CosmosXpress... that is probably true.

-Dustin
Professional Engineer
Certified SolidWorks Professional
Certified COSMOSWorks Designer Specialist
Certified SolidWorks Advanced Sheet Metal Specialist

 

[Adalius]

Ah, yep, you caught me Shaggy, it was Xpress that I was thinking of. For some reason I was thinking the two versions were Cosmos (full) and Cosmoworks (more compact version), where as in fact, what I meant was Cosmosworks vs Cosmosxpress, in which works lets you analyze full assemblies, xpress limits you to single parts (or did the last time I used plain old xpress)