We've tried SW2005 to lay out a fairly simple assembly, and animate it, but it can't do it.
The assembly consists of:
- A base with a centered pivot joint.
- Two u-channel levers hinge on this joint, initially horizontal.
- Each lever terminates in a pivot, from which rises a telescoping hydraulic cylinder.
- The tips of the two T.H. cylinders are joined at top by a short hinged link. So this assembly has 5 linked "bars" (basically), with two "bars" of variable length.
The lower bars swing up from a horizontal position to about 70 degrees. The telescoping cylinders extend from the same length as the levers, to
3x that length.SW2005 does not animate this assembly correctly. It "sticks" and generates bizarre movements whenever we try to move anything, and therefore cannot produce a useful animation of the mechanism rising from a collapsed (nearly horizontal position) to fully-extended.
The telescoping cylinders are constrained "concentric" and are limited in end travel.
We're seeking a solution to this problem in _some_ CAD package. We resorted to animating it in Maya; probably Studio3D or Lightwave could have worked.
But ultimately, we want to add the rest of the mechanical structure (of which there's a LOT), and be able, however slowly, to simulate the whole thing for collision detection under certain deflections of parts, and so on.
Sorry for the limited info and no image, but we will communicate directly with folks who can seriously help us out.
Thanks for your time.