1. © 2011 Autodesk Freely licensed for use by educational institutions. Reuse and changes require a note indicating that content has been modified from the original, and must attribute source content to Autodesk. www.autodesk.com/edcommunity Education Community Dynamic Simulation: Overview Objective  The objective of this module is to provide an overview of the dynamic simulation capabilities in Autodesk® Inventor® software.  It explains the similarities between constraints used to position parts in an assembly and the joint (kinematic) constraints used to control motion.

2. © 2011 Autodesk Freely licensed for use by educational institutions. Reuse and changes require a note indicating that content has been modified from the original, and must attribute source content to Autodesk. www.autodesk.com/edcommunity Education Community Autodesk Inventor Assemblies  Autodesk Inventor is a comprehensive modeling system that allows complex assemblies to be created from individual part models during the design process.  The main advantage of the assembly modeling process is that it allows the design team to ensure that all parts fit together and function as intended.  A by-product of the assembly modeling process is that the mechanical properties of the individual parts and the overall assembly are available to use for simulation. Section 4 – Dynamic Simulation Module 1 – Overview Page 2

3. © 2011 Autodesk Freely licensed for use by educational institutions. Reuse and changes require a note indicating that content has been modified from the original, and must attribute source content to Autodesk. www.autodesk.com/edcommunity Education Community Assembly Constraints  The interaction between parts in an Inventor assembly is controlled by constraints.  Each part constraint has equations associated with it that allows the creation of a system of equations that define the position of each part in the assembly.  This system of equations is solved each time a part is moved to determine the position of the other parts. Four fundamental assembly constraints in Inventor allow complex models to be created. Mate Angle Tangent Insert Section 4 – Dynamic Simulation Module 1 – Overview Page 3

4. © 2011 Autodesk Freely licensed for use by educational institutions. Reuse and changes require a note indicating that content has been modified from the original, and must attribute source content to Autodesk. www.autodesk.com/edcommunity Education Community Kinematic (Joint) Constraints  The motion of mechanisms is controlled by kinematic constraints and the equations of motion.  Kinematic constraints define how parts move relative to each other at joints or contact points.  Each kinematic constraint removes specific degrees of freedom from the system.  Kinematic constraints can often be inferred from assembly constraints. Section 4 – Dynamic Simulation Module 1 – Overview Page 4 Example of Kinematic Constraints in Inventor

5. © 2011 Autodesk Freely licensed for use by educational institutions. Reuse and changes require a note indicating that content has been modified from the original, and must attribute source content to Autodesk. www.autodesk.com/edcommunity Education Community Dynamic Simulation  Dynamic Simulation in Inventor provides a tool for computing the dynamic motion and associated constraint forces in mechanical assemblies.  Dynamic Simulation can either automatically convert assembly constraints into kinematic constraints or the user can define them manually.  Dynamic Simulation is associative; part and constraint information is automatically updated when changes are made to the assembly. Example of time dependent forces and motion computed in Inventor’s Dynamic Simulation Environment. Section 4 – Dynamic Simulation Module 1 – Overview Page 5

6. © 2011 Autodesk Freely licensed for use by educational institutions. Reuse and changes require a note indicating that content has been modified from the original, and must attribute source content to Autodesk. www.autodesk.com/edcommunity Education Community Module Summary  This module has provided an overview of the dynamic simulation capability in Autodesk Inventor software.  It explained the similarities between constraints used to position parts in an assembly and the joint (kinematic) constraints used to control motion.  Subsequent modules will provide more detailed information on the governing equations and methods used to create a dynamic simulation. Section 4 – Dynamic Simulation Module 1 – Overview Page 6