Volume 118 The COSMOS Companion

Other Connectors in COSMOSWorks

The COSMOS Companion

Other Connectors in
COSMOSWorks

Sponsored by:

Image courtesy of National Optical Astronomy

Observatory, operated by the Association of Universities
Volume 118 for Research in Astronomy, under cooperative
agreement with the National Science Foundation.

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What is the COSMOS Companion?

ƒ The COSMOS Companion is a series of short subjects to

help design engineers build better products with SolidWorks
Analysis
ƒ Video presentations and accompanying exercises
ƒ A tool for Continuous Learning on your schedule
ƒ Pre-recorded videos are accompanied by a more detailed
webcast with Q & A
– Download videos and review webcast schedule at:
ƒ http://www.cosmosm.com/pages/news/COSMOS_Companion.html

ƒ It is not an alternative to instructor-led introductory training

– We highly recommend you take a course with your local reseller to
build a solid knowledge base

© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 2

If you are new to the COSMOS Companion, a few comments on the program are
warranted. The COSMOS Companion series was developed in response to the request
from many of our users for more detailed information on specific and/or new functionality
within the COSMOS products. Additionally, many users have been asking for clarification
of common design analysis questions to enable them to make more representative
analysis models and make better decisions with the data. What’s more, users have asked
for this material to be made available in a variety of formats so they can review it how and
when they wish. To address this, each COSMOS Companion topic has been pre-recorded
and made available thru the COSMOS Companion homepage as a downloadable or
streaming video with audio, as static PDF slides for printing, or as a live webcast enabling
attendees to ask questions and engage in additional discussion. We are trying to provide
continuous learning on your schedule so you can be as effective and efficient as possible
when using COSMOS for design analysis and validation.

It is important to note that this material is not developed as an alternative to instructor led
training. We still believe that the best introduction to any of the COSMOS products is in a
class led by your reseller’s certified instructor. In this program, we are hoping to build on
the lessons learned in your initial training. In fact, we will make the assumption that you
have basic knowledge of the interface and workflow from intro training or equivalent
experience. We will try not to repeat what was taught in those classes or can be found in
the on-line help but to augment that information.

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Topics to be Covered…

ƒ Spring Connectors
ƒ Rigid Connectors
ƒ Link Connectors
ƒ Spot Weld Connectors
ƒ Bearing Connectors

© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 3

Pin Connectors and Bolt Connectors were covered in previous COSMOS

Companion units.

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Spring Connectors

ƒ Spring Types
– Tension/Compression
ƒ General purpose springs
– Compression Only
ƒ Bumpers
– Tension Only
ƒ Cables
ƒ Geometry Selections
– Flat parallel faces
– Concentric Cylindrical faces
– Between vertices
ƒ Options
– Distributed vs. Total
– Normal & Shear Stiffness
– Preload

© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 4

Spring Connectors represent, essentially, springs in your model. You must choose between 3 spring types,
3 geometry selection options for placing these springs and then decide whether the stiffness is a single, total
value or a stiffness that is distributed over an area. Finally, you need to indicated normal and shear stiffness
then provide a preload if this is required for your model.
The general purpose springs are Tension/Compression which generate forces as soon as parts start to
move. You also have the option of Compression Only Springs (new to v2007) which can be used for rubber
bumpers or springs that aren’t attached but provide a compressive interface when sandwiched between 2
parts. Finally you can choose Tension Only springs, also new to v2007. I’ve found use for these springs to
model cables or ropes that can’t take compression but, in tension, can drastically alter the stiffness of a
system.
Flat Parallel Faces will be your most used geometry selection for Springs. As will be discussed later, it is in
your best interests to make sure your faces are not only flat and parallel but that you have a split line, usually
the diameter of the spring, defining an area of contact for the spring that is identically projected on both
faces. If these split line patches aren’t properly aligned, you run the risk of introducing a moment in your
model that wasn’t intended.
The Between Vertices option is also helpful if you are trying to apply soft springs manually to stabilize the
model instead of using the Soft Springs study option.
The Concentric Cylindrical faces option is NOT for a Torsion Spring and has limited use. This will be
discussed more in a few slides.
The Stiffness & Preload options are pretty self-explanatory but the Distributed vs. Total Stiffness choice
warrants more discussion.

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Spring Connectors

ƒ Flat Parallel Faces & Total vs. Distributed K

– For Total K, parallel faces should be of identical size and,
essentially, a projection of each other
– Distributed K can use faces of different sizes and shapes
ƒ Watch out for unexpected Moments

© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 5

If you don’t have correctly sized and projected split line patches or the face on one part
isn’t completely “projectable” into the other face, you will have to use distributed stiffness.
This forces you to calculate the area of the surfaces being used and may require some
iterations to get the stiffness right when the two faces have different areas. It really is in
your best interests to position these faces correctly. In the example shown, if the opposing
circular patches were mis-aligned, you could set your spring up with distributed K but a
moment would be introduced in the model because the line of action between the faces,
through the spring, is not perpendicular to the parallel faces. This effect could be small
but it could alter your interpretation of the load path.

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Spring Connectors

ƒ Concentric Cylinders No!

– Implemented for special

application
– Technique in traditional FEA
for modeling journal type
bearings
– Unless you know you need it,
stick with regular Contact
Maybe…but why?

© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 6

The Concentric Cylinder option was implemented for a very specific purpose that is now
addressed with the Journal Bearing Connector. It is meant to automate a more traditional
analysis technique of approximating contact between two cylinders with springs versus
actual No Penetration contact; as shown in the image at the lower left. You can model the
actual parts and use No Penetration Contact more easily within COSMOSWorks and I’d
recommend that option instead unless you really know what you are doing.

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Spring Connector

ƒ Another use for Springs

© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 7

Another use for Springs that I’ve found, as alluded to earlier, is to stabilize parts that
would normally be held in place by friction when friction doesn’t contribute measurably to
the results of interest. In the case shown above, the Pin thru the Handle can potentially
slide axially. If No Penetration contact was defined for that interaction, you could define a
spring between the ends of the pin and the Handle face with a very, very light stiffness.
THis will stabilize the model so you can avoid the “Singular Matrix” error that indicates an
unconstrained model without having to use Soft Springs. This is preferable to me since I
want to decide what parts move and don’t move. In most cases, the soft spring option will
yield acceptable results but you should use when you have no other choice because it can
mask other modeling errors that can invalidate your solution.
One more interesting note about Spring Connectors is that you can apply a Spring
Connector between two faces of a single part IF you are analyzing a Part document.
Within an assembly analysis, you can’t apply a spring to two faces of the same part. I’m
looking into this…

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Rigid Connector

ƒ The Rigid connector ties faces on

one component to faces on another
component RIGIDLY
ƒ NOT identical to bonded contact
– Bonded contact allows for local
compliance
– Rigid connectors make the faces they
reference rigid in addition to the link
between them
ƒ Use only if you are sure you know
what you’re doing
Infinitely – May over-stiffen model
Rigid
– May prevent more natural
deformation

© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 8

The Rigid Connector ties two faces together RIGIDLY. The word is intentionally
emphasized since rigid REALLY means rigid. This is not identical to Bonded Contact
which does allow some local bending between bonded faces. The faces attached rigidly
will never change shape or change orientation with respect to each other. Use this
Connector sparingly as, if mis-applied, can greatly over stiffen your model and render
unanticipated results.

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Link Connector

ƒ The Link connector ties a vertex on

one component to a vertex on
another component
– The distance between the vertices is
RIGIDLY maintained
– The ends of the Link behave as a Ball
Joint so rotations allowed
ƒ Equivalent to a REALLY stiff vertex-
vertex spring
ƒ Use only if you are sure you know
what you’re doing
Infinitely
Rigid – May over-stiffen model (Not as much
as a Rigid connector)
– May prevent more natural
deformation

© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 9

The Link Connector is another highly idealized specialty Connector that should be used
sparingly. Like the Rigid connector, it ties the distance of vertices to each other RIGIDLY
but does allow local rotations at the end of the Link, much like a connection thru a Ball
Joint. Again, while less rigid than the rigid connector, this should only be used if you truly
understand the effect it is having on your model.

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Rigid vs. Link Connector

M M

Rigid Connector Link Connector

© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 10

In this example, you can see the difference between a Rigid and a Link Connector on the
same problem. The additional moment applied to the faces in the Rigid example is
obvious based on the bending of the fingers.

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Spot Weld Connectors

ƒ You can define spot welds between two solid or

two shell faces or between a solid and shell
face.
ƒ You should also define a No penetration
contact condition between the two faces if they
might touch when they deform
– If you’ve modeled adjacent thin walls as mid-
plane shells, remember that there will be a gap
of ½ the sum of the wall thicknesses. No
Penetration contact doesn’t account for this.
ƒ Spot welds require vertices OR reference
points at the location you wish to place the
connector
– Reference points need to be at the Assy level
ƒ Local results near spot welds ARE mesh
dependent

© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 11

The Spot Weld Connector allows you to quickly define multiple spot weld connections between parallel faces
of two parts. These parts do need to be near each other and you’ll get a warning message if they are too far
apart. If you’ve modeled two shell surfaces at the mid-surface, there should, by default be a gap between
the parts and this distance should be fine. If you have two parts welded that can support each other on their
faces in addition to the spot weld, you will need to define No Penetration contact between them. Again, with
shell models, the shell contact implementation in COSMOSWorks doesn’t account for the shell thickness
when looking for contact interactions. What this means is that if 2 surfaces are offset by ½ a wall thickness
on each side, they would have to cross that gap before contacting whereas the physical parts would be in
contact already. If you anticipate a problem with this, you may want to adjust your surface placement so they
are touching initially. You’ll have to decide if this is valid for your systems.
Another important aspect of Spot Welds is that they look to tie the nodes near the attachment vertex, based
on the diameter specified, to the spot weld element. On a coarse mesh, this could result in some
unreasonable looking local results. The results away from the joint are probably OK but sometimes it’s hard
to tell. I would recommend setting up correctly positioned split line patches, as described in the discussion
on Springs to attach your spot welds in areas you care about. An upside this this is that the Free Body
Forces, available in v2007, for that split line face will give you important feedback on the loading thru the
weld since we currently don’t support listing Spot Weld Connector forces.
If these forces aren’t important, you can get an equally valid nodal distribution near your spot weld by
refining the mesh near the attachment points.

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Spot Weld Connectors

ƒ Spot weld doesn’t force a node at reference point

ƒ User has no control over how many or which nodes get used
© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 12

In this example, 9 spot welds tie a 3-sided part to a formed floor. As shown, if the mesh is
too coarse, the spot weld will grab the closes nodes to attach to which may not be near
the spot diameter specified at all.

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Spot Weld Connector

Coarse Mesh Fine Mesh

© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 13

This model was solved with a default, coarse mesh and a refined mesh on the surfaces
where the spots are attached. The Fine mesh does take a little longer to solve and some
split lines could have reduced the number of smaller elements needed.

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Spot Weld Connector

Coarse Mesh Fine Mesh

© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 14

You can see from the results, the stresses near the spots in the coarse mesh were spotty
and discontinuous whereas the results near the spot in the fine mesh look great.
While you don’t need to refine such large portions of the model, a combination of split
lines and mesh refinement can greatly enhance the spot weld results.

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Bearing Connector

ƒ Bearing connectors attach a part to Ground

– More like a Restraint than a Connector

ƒ Current implementation resolves what

Spring connector between concentric
cylinders attempts to resolve
ƒ Does not provide off-axis rotational freedom
as a bearing might see

© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 15

The last connector we’ll discuss is the Bearing Connector which we just implemented in
v2007. While most connectors attach two parts together, a Bearing connector attaches a
part to ground. An inherent assumption is that the part that supports the bearing is much
more rigid than the parts being studied. This may not always be the case so think this thru
in your models.
The intent of the connector is to provide the local flexibility that a Bearing would allow
while still restraining the shaft.
First, let’s make sure we all understand the flexibility that comes with a ball or roller
bearing…

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Bearing Connector
Actual Bearing F
Restraint
Remote Load “Pin”
Bearing Connector
α
Applied Force

K2
K=∞

0<K<∞ but easily understood…

K1
K=0

Off-Axis Rotation, α

© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 16

If you have the chance, you should verify for yourself that a shaft cantilevered thru a ball bearing has mostly
unrestricted off-axis play until a certain angle is reached and the clearances are taken up. At that point, the
off-axis stiffness increases dramatically. This can be approximated with the bi-linear curve shown Red in the
image. Two other options available to you prior to the Bearing Connector was to fix the entire area that
interacts with the Bearing inner race, shown by the green, K equals infinity curve. This method is non-
conservative as it stiffens the shaft unnaturally and stresses downstream will report lower than they should.
At the other extreme is to use the Remote Load Displacement option that ties the inner race surface to a
central point. That central point can be restrained solely in translations so it behaves like a ball joint. We can
assume this represents a stiffness of zero. This technique has been described in a couple of prior COSMOS
Companion units. This technique is valid for small rotations, when the interaction is on the K1 portion of the
bi-linear curve shown but can be overly conservative if the clearances are removed and the bearing
responds with the K2 stiffness. Stresses and displacement will be much higher than in test.
The Bearing Connector provide a linear middle ground where, by adjusting the single radial stiffness
parameter, you can specify an average off-axis stiffness. Since this is in the form of radial, versus rotational,
stiffness for the entire geometry selection, you can’t achieve a zero stiffness state and the more flexible your
stiffness value is, the more radial translation you can expect at the connector. In other words, your parts can
move off of the location you placed them in vs. just pivoting as if in a ball joint. If you think you have need for
this connector, you should make sure you understand what it is really doing.

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Bearing Connector
F

“Bushing”: Kaxial + Kradial

ƒ Bearing Connector gives a radial and axial stiffness (K) that

offer some rotational flexibility but it is done more in the
manner a hard rubber bushing might.
– Orthotropic stiffness properties for axial and radial

© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 17

In this diagram, the Bearing Connector is represented by a hard rubber bushing.

Obviously, this bushing will allow some rotation as well as straight axial and radial
displacement. The off-axis stiffness will be a function of the span of the bushing and the
radial stiffness. If you are shooting for a known rotation for a given applied load, you may
need to iterate on the stiffness values in this Connector.

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Bearing Connectors

Roller Bearing Connector

Ball Bearing Connector

Remote Load - Displacement

© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 18

In this example, the same part with consistent loading is restrained using three methods.
The Roller Bearing connector is applied to a portion of the shaft defined with split lines to
provide the “bushing” effect shown previously. The shaft is held pretty rigidly within this
connector.
The Ball bearing connector is applied on a split line edge indicative of the contact area
between “balls” rolling around the shaft. The split line isn’t afforded any off-axis rotational
flexibility but, as you can see from the image, a little deformation behind the connector is
generated due to the volumetric load path thru the shaft.
In the third case, a Remote Load Displacement restraint was applied at the geometric
center of the bearing surface and allowed to rotate freely. The displacement is significantly
higher than with the other two options.

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Bearing Connector

Roller Bearing Connector

Ball Bearing Connector

Remote Load - Displacement

© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 19

As can be seen from this image, the stress levels are much higher as well, showing the
conservative nature of the Remote Load option.
So, which option should you choose? If you know that your shaft rotation will take up the
clearance in your bearings, determined from some simple testing, use the Roller Bearing
Connector. Otherwise, stay conservative and use the Remote Load Displacement option.
The Ball Bearing option doesn’t buy you much over these two methods.

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Connector Summary
Connector Type Part Mesh Types Study Types Comments

Static
Frequency Face to Face
Rigid No Solid
Buckling Rigid means RIGID!
Nonlinear
Static
Frequency
Pin No Solid Pin Forces can be listed
Buckling
Nonlinear
Static
Spring Nonlinear
Tension/Compression Yes* * Springs can be attached to two
Frequency
Solid Buckling entities on a single part in a
Shell (Between Vertices Only) Part doc but not in an Assy
Spring Static (No Lg Disp) Doc
Tension Only Yes*
Nonlinear
Compression Only

Static
More of a Restraint…a squishy
Elastic Support Yes Solid Frequency
restraint
Buckling

*Ground Bolt only

Bolt Yes* Solid Static
Bolt Forces can be listed

Static
Solid
Spot Welds No Frequency Local mesh control is important
Shell
Buckling
Static
Frequency Vertex to Vertex
Link No Solid
Buckling Still pretty rigid…
Nonlinear
Static
More of a Restraint
Bearing Yes Solid Frequency
Rotation and stiffness to Ground
Buckling

© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 20

This chart summarizes all the connectors available in v2007. The Part column indicates
whether the connector can be used on a single part. If not, it can only be used in an
assembly.
The Mesh Types & Study Types column are self-explanatory but good to utilize as
references.
Finally, the Comments column includes some observations that might make applying
these Connectors more straightforward in your models.

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Presentation Summary

In this COSMOS Companion unit, we reviewed:

ƒ The remaining Connector options: Spring, Rigid, Link, Spot
Weld & Bearing
ƒ The setup options for each of these Connectors
ƒ Some “Do’s” and “Don'ts” for many of these
ƒ Which model type and study types can utilize each
Connector

© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 21

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Conclusion

For more information…

ƒ Contact your local reseller for more in-depth training or
support on using Connectors in COSMOSWorks to make
your design process more efficient.
ƒ Review the on-line help for a more detailed description of the
features discussed
ƒ Attend, or better yet, present at a local COSMOS or
SolidWorks user group.
– See http://www.swugn.org/ for a user group near you

© 2006 SolidWorks Corp. Confidential. 22

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