slider joint for linear motion assembly

[bgolash]

Hi

I have this almost working except the wrong parts are moving. The lower and upper blocks with

the round shafts stay fixed. Only the larger center section moves. I tried to make some parts

grounded, tried rigid joints...no luck so far.

Thanks

http://a360.co/2mbKMdx

[neljoshua · Accepted solution]

@bgolash,

I worked with your assembly a bit and was able to get it working.  The issues that I noticed are below.

1) You did not turn the top feature into a component--it was still a body.  Joints will only work with components (not bodies).  I think this is the main reason that you were having issues.

2) The block in the middle did not have holes in it.  I suppose this assembly could have been created without them, but it seemed strange to me (and challenging to create the joints I wanted), so I added them.

3) The components were not named.  This is not a requirement--just a preference of mine.  I find it especially helpful to give components meaningful names ("rod", "slider", etc) so that I can keep track of them later.

The short version of what I did is: make the top feature into a component, create holes in the sliding block, rigidly join the top, bottom, and rods, create a slider joint between the sliding block and rods, and finally create and enable contact sets.  Here is the design:

http://a360.co/2mtQSXH

[bgolash]

Hi Josh

Very helpful and informative. Thanks so much for spending the time on my project.

I still have a hard time understanding the difference between a body and a component.

At least for the slider joint, I see now that components are an absolute requirement in certain

situations.

[neljoshua · Accepted solution]

@bgolash,

You are welcome.

I would say that components are always a requirement in Fusion.  If you have questions about bodies and components, I suggest you read (or re-read, as I have had to) this post regarding Fusion's R.U.L.E. #1.  In short, bodies are features that one creates (cylinders, prisms, etc); components house bodies.

This distinction takes some getting used to, especially if you are coming from another CAD package, but it is worth it in order to get the most out of Fusion.