Constraining the solid hinge piece

In the first analysis step, in which contact is established, you will constrain a single node of the solid hinge piece in all directions. These constraints, along with contact with the pin, are enough to prevent rigid body motion of the solid piece. In the second analysis step, in which the load is applied to the model, you will remove the constraint in the 1-direction.

  1. Create a displacement boundary condition in the Initial step, and call it Constrain.

  2. Apply the boundary condition to the vertex selected from the solid hinge piece, as shown in Figure 1.

    Figure 1. Apply a boundary condition to a vertex of the solid hinge piece.

  3. Constrain the vertex in the 1-, 2-, and 3-directions.

  4. In the Load step, modify the boundary condition so that the hinge is unconstrained in the 1-direction.

  5. When you have finished creating boundary conditions, click Dismiss to close the Boundary Condition Manager.