Community
Inventor Forum
Welcome to Autodesk’s Inventor Forums. Share your knowledge, ask questions, and explore popular Inventor topics.
cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

How to Functionally Constrain a "Split Wedge" Assembly?

10 REPLIES 10
SOLVED
Reply
Message 1 of 11
tdswanson
1421 Views, 10 Replies

How to Functionally Constrain a "Split Wedge" Assembly?

Hey everyone:

 

I'm working on a simple assembly that's got some moving parts and I'm having a hard time getting the constraints to work right.

 

It's a simple "wedge" assembly where the wedge is constrained to a single axis with a return spring keeping it biased one way.  The are two blocks that are pulled tight against the taper of the wedge with springs that keep them pressed against the taper.  When the wedge moves in they split, when it moves out, they contract.  Simple, right?

 

For the life of me, I can't seem to constrain the parts correctly to the taper so it behaves correctly.  The design is proprietary, so I've made up a "lite" version of it and attached it here.

 

Can anyone help?  Thanks!

10 REPLIES 10
Message 2 of 11
rdyson
in reply to: tdswanson

Your wedge fits exactly with the blocks. They will not move with respect to movement of the wedge.

I don't understand you intent.



PDSU 2016
Message 3 of 11
tdswanson
in reply to: rdyson

I've attached a revised copy with the tapered face of the blocks constrained (via Tangent) to the taper of the wedge.  However, this seems to work in reverse of reality. 

 

When the wedge is lifted UP, the block moves out.  In reality as the wedge is lifted UP, that block is going to slide in.  Obviously it's not in this assembly model, but imagine a spring on the external face of the block that's keeping the two tapered faces together. 

 

Thus when the wedge goes UP, the block should slide towards the Y axis.

 

Is this clearer?

 

Thanks!

Message 4 of 11
rdyson
in reply to: tdswanson

Sorry, I still have no idea what you'er expecting to happen.



PDSU 2016
Message 5 of 11
JDMather
in reply to: tdswanson

Remove the Tangent constraint.

Add the two Split*.ipt parts to Contact Set.

Activate Contact Solver

 

or

go into Environments>Dynamic Simulation and add a joint for the contact.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Autodesk Inventor 2019 Certified Professional
Autodesk AutoCAD 2013 Certified Professional
Certified SolidWorks Professional


The CADWhisperer YouTube Channel


EESignature

Message 6 of 11
tdswanson
in reply to: JDMather

OK, so that seems like it's pretty much it.  I've added a shoulder screw that'll hopefully clear things up a bit.  (see attachment).

 

I added the blocks and the wedge to a contact set, activated contact solver, then drug them in until they touched.
  As I drag the wedge down, the blocks split, but they don't contract when the wedge returns UP.

 

So I added a planar constraint with motion limits and used the original offset as a resting position.  This works to drag it around with contact solver active, but I can't drive the constraint on the travel of the wedge for a simulation.  It errors out.

 

Is there another way to drive the motion a few times?

 

Also - I don't have "Dynamic Simulation" on my Environments tab.  Was this a separate purchase item?

 

Thanks very much for looking this over with me!

Message 7 of 11
JDMather
in reply to: tdswanson


@tdswanson wrote:

 

Also - I don't have "Dynamic Simulation" on my Environments tab.  Was this a separate purchase item?

 



Must have Inventor Professional to have the Dynamic SImulation.

You can fudge this with Inventor Studio motions, but I think if you really need to simulate something here you are going to need D.S.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Autodesk Inventor 2019 Certified Professional
Autodesk AutoCAD 2013 Certified Professional
Certified SolidWorks Professional


The CADWhisperer YouTube Channel


EESignature

Message 8 of 11
Mark.Downes
in reply to: tdswanson

Hi,

 

I use this kind of assembly a lot with jigs and fixtures, if I have this correct to what you want; it’s a simple split face on the conical faces and a coincident mate of the edges (see attached).

 

Hope this helps

 

Cheers

 

Mark

Inventor 2013

 

Cheers
Mark
Inventor 2018, 3DS Max 2018, Vault 2018
Message 9 of 11
tdswanson
in reply to: Mark.Downes

Mark:

 

I split the faces on the block and on the wedge.  And I can constrain one of the split lines to the other split line, but then nothing can move.  Am I missing something?

 

Thanks!

Message 10 of 11
Mark.Downes
in reply to: tdswanson

Mornin,

 

The olny thing i can think of why its not working for you is you may have too many Mates.

It works for the model i uploaded from your asembly!

 

Give that one a go, If i think back i took of the active contact solver (and mates).

 

cheers

Mark

Cheers
Mark
Inventor 2018, 3DS Max 2018, Vault 2018
Message 11 of 11
tdswanson
in reply to: Mark.Downes

Thanks for your reply.  I got it to work this time.  I downloaded your assembly to a subfolder of my Dummy Project, then renamed all my old files to eliminate any referencing issues.  I think I had some trouble the first time because the assembly was using a mix of your and my components or something.

 

Pulled this version up and it worked like a charm.  That's a clever trick.....  I woudn't have thought to split the face and constrain line to line.

 

Thanks again!

Can't find what you're looking for? Ask the community or share your knowledge.

Post to forums  

Autodesk Design & Make Report