Hey guys, Hope im posting this is the correct spot..Im new to this forum.
Anways, I have a question I was hoping to get some answers on:
Im running a Static anaylsis test on a Portable Cart we are designing to hold and move Hospital compressor/ventilator systems.
I am trying to simulate the stress/displacement/strain and FOS of the cart due to a 200 lb load "basically a nurse pushing down on the handle as hard as she can" along with the total weight of the ventilator it will be holding.
However when I run the simulator, it gets 34% done and says Error:"Equilibrium is Not Achieved" "Results will be saved upto the current iteration."
Below is a picture of the Cart and the constraints ive added to it.
Material: I cant specify exact material, but its a combination of Steel and aluminum
External Loads: I have a 200 lb load normal to the bottom plane, with a 100lb load uniformially distributed over the head of the cart.
Connections: I have Threaded Counterbore screws going up through the base into the spine (bottom) and also connecting the handle to the head (cant see those from this view.) I set all of the coincident interference as no penetration, and I did a contact set between the welded parts.
Fixtures: (THIS IS WHERE I THINK I AM HAVING ISSUES) I fixed the bottom left corner of the base completely by selecting the Cylindrical face of the "shaft" where the casters (not shown) will attach. Next, I selected the other 3 cylindrical shafts and added a vertical constraint.
*IF anybody can help me out, that would be a huge help...my boss and I have tried several different ways of fixing the bottom to get the results we are looking for but arent having much luck.
Animate the saved result on automatic (automatically scaled deflected shape) and see what is moving. Chances are you should switch to bonded and see if that works - might get the same error. In any event you will know what is moving and then connected so it doesn't. The automatic determination of contacts requires that the surfaces being connected by whatever condition need to be coincident. Small gaps or interferences (like simplified bolts in holes) is often a source of this specific problem for less experienced users. Anyway bonded looks like the condition to use to start will anyway - it you are interested in bolt bearing stresses (not usually critical) then just do the critical connection separetely.