topic Re: Dumb Simulate Question - Forces acting on multiple faces in Inventor Forum

Dumb Simulate Question - Forces acting on multiple faces

brandon.rodriguezN68U2 — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 19:00:29 GMT

Hi, dumb question here whose answer doesn't seem obvious.

When doing FEA in Inventor, when you apply a force to multiple faces, does it apply the total force to each face or does it distribute the given load between the faces?

In other words, if I input a 100 lb load and select 2 faces to apply it to, is it applying 100 lbs to each face (so 200 lbs total) or is it distributing the load to equal a 100 lb total load between the 2 faces?

Re: Dumb Simulate Question - Forces acting on multiple faces

johnsonshiue — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 20:56:51 GMT

Hi Brandon,

There is no dumb question. There are only dumb answers. Regarding Force Load in Inventor FEA, I believe it is indeed distributed between the faces (more like pressure). If you want additional load, you will need to add it accordingly.

Many thanks!

Re: Dumb Simulate Question - Forces acting on multiple faces

JDMather — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 21:40:03 GMT

Can you Attach your file here?

Can you run a test both ways and retrieve the Reaction Force?

Re: Dumb Simulate Question - Forces acting on multiple faces

rkov_no — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 12:40:32 GMT

The question was very good, I have indeed the very same question. The answer was however, ambiguous. In this case, I anticipate that Brandon wanted a definitive answer, not a belief.
If you work for Autodesk, you could indeed suggest that the next version makes it very clear in the dialogue box whether the load is shared over the multiple inputs, or is applied to each input surface/edge etc.

Edit:
I needed a definitive answer to this and made a small test. It does indicate that the load is applied in full to every entity selected, as the enclosed picture shows. I also discovered an inconspicuous tick-box for "Total Force", but it is confusing as this dialogue keeps changing. I have now submitted a suggestion to idea station, take a look here:
https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-nastran-ideas/better-dialogue-box-for-load-creation-on-multiple-entities/idi-p/13754441