Complex 3D Contact Body Movement Definition

[SGAT]

Hi Guys,

I am new to this forum so apologies if this question has already been covered. I had a quick look over the old threads but didn't find an answer...

I would like to define the complex movement of a 3D rigid contact body in Marc/Mentat. The part I am modelling is a grommet similar to that found around a car gearstick. I have 5 axes in Catia V5 which define the "worstcase" positions of the shaft. Unfortunately these axes do not share a common rotation axis. How can I define this motion in Mentat?

I have been trying to work this through myself and it seems I need to define each "axis to axis" movement as 3 rotation/translation functions based on the primary axis. Sounds simple enough, but how??? I can't even define the tables to get two lines to translate/rotate on to each other in 2D... :-(

I would be VERY grateful if someone could shed some light on this problem. If there is a makro or script to produce the necessary graphs, that would be fantastic!

Many thanks, Stuart

http://www.sgatdesign.com

 

[Jordonlaw]

Can't you get Catia to write out the individual motions v's time relative to global coordinates ? I can see how you could then import the individual displacements into Mentat via a table and then link them together in a load case. What I don't see yet is how you treat the rotations; are these not relative to the local coordinates system of the grommet ? If so then there may be a way to define that local coordinates system at each displacement step and map the rotation on top using tables.