8. Creating a plate

To create a plate:

1) From the Geometric Modeling tool stack or palette, select the Plate tool .

2) In the settings container, do the following:

• Specify whether you want to create a new part composed of the geometry or add the geometry to an existing part or ground.

• If desired, set the thickness or radius of the corners of the plate.

3) Place the cursor where you want the first corner of the plate and click the mouse button.

4) Click at each corner of the plate. You must specify at least three locations.

5) Continue selecting locations or right-click to close the plate.

9. Creating an Extrusion

To create an extrusion from existing curve geometry:

1) From the Geometric Modeling tool stack or palette, select the Extrusion tool .

2) In the settings container, do the following:

• Specify whether you want to create a new part composed of the geometry or add the geometry to an existing part or ground.

• If desired, set the length (depth) of the extrusion.

• Specify the direction you want the profile to be extruded from the current working grid.

3) Select the curve geometry.

To create an extrusion by selecting points:

1) From the Geometric Modeling tool stack or palette, select the Extrusion tool .

2) In the settings container, do the following:

• Specify whether you want to create a new part composed of the geometry or add the geometry to an existing part or ground.

• Specify whether or not you want to create a closed extrusion.

• If desired, set the length of the extrusion.

• Specify the direction you want the profile to be extruded from the current working grid.

3) Place the cursor where you want to begin drawing the profile of the extrusion, and click.

4) Click at each vertex in the profile; then right-click to finish drawing the profile.

2.1.3 Creating Complex Geometry

ADAMS/View provides you with many ways in which you can take simple geometry and create complex geometry from it. You can create solid geometry that has mass from wire geometry or create complex, open geometry that has no mass.

1. Chaining Wire Construction Geometry

You can link together wire construction geometry to create a complex profile, which you can then extrude. The geometry to be chained together must touch at one endpoint and cannot be closed geometry. ADAMS/View adds the final chained geometry to the part that owns the first geometry that you selected.

To chain wire geometry together:

1) From the Geometric Modeling tool stack or palette, select the Chain tool .

2) Click each piece of the wire geometry to be chained. The Dynamic Model Navigator highlights those objects in your model that can be chained as you move the cursor around the main window.

3) After selecting the geometry to be chained, right-click to create the chained geometry.

2. Combining Geometry

Once you have created individual parts of solid geometry, you can combine them into one part to create complex, solid geometry, referred to as constructive, solid geometry or CSG. ADAMS/View creates the solid geometry using Boolean operations, such as union and intersection.

(1) Creating One Part from the Union of Two Solids

ADAMS/View lets you create complex geometry by joining two intersecting solids. ADAMS/View merges the second part you select into the first part resulting in a single part. The union has a mass computed from the volume of the new solid. Any overlapping volume is only counted once.

To create a part from the union of two solids:

1) From the Geometric Modeling tool stack or palette, select the Union tool .

2) Select the solid geometry to be combined. As you move the cursor, the Dynamic Model Navigator highlights those objects that can be combined. The second part you select is combined into the first part.

(2) Creating One Part from the Intersection of Two Solids

ADAMS/View lets you intersect the geometry belonging to two solids to create a single part made up of only the intersecting geometries. ADAMS/View merges the second part that you select with the geometry of the first part that you select and forms one rigid body from the two geometries.

To create a part from the intersection of two overlapping solids:

1) From the Geometric Modeling tool stack or palette, select the Intersect tool .

2) Select the solid geometry to be combined. As you move the cursor, the Dynamic Model Navigator highlights those objects that can be combined. The second part you select is combined into the first part.

(3) Cutting a Solid from Another Solid

ADAMS/View lets you remove the volume where one solid intersects another solid to create a new solid. ADAMS/View subtracts the geometry of the second part that you select from the geometry of the first part. The remaining geometry belongs to the second part that you selected.

To create a part from the difference of two solids:

1) From the Geometric Modeling tool stack or palette, select the Cut tool .

2) Select the solid geometry to be cut. As you move the cursor, the Dynamic Model Navigator highlights those objects that can be cut. The second part you select is cut from the first part.

(4) Splitting a Solid

After you’ve created a complex solid, often referred to as a CSG, using the Boolean operations explained in the previous sections, you can split the complex solid back into its primitive solids. ADAMS/View creates a part for each solid resulting from the split operation.

To split a complex solid:

1) From the Geometric Modeling tool stack or palette, select the Split tool .

2) Select the solid geometry to be split. The Dynamic Model Navigator highlights those objects in your model that can be split.