Do design mode commands effect analysis? ... ie, fixing or mating in an assembly? I have done some structural runs with unmated/unfixed features without a problem, but on some occasions, the analysis will not run. Could this be because of a construction problem in the design mode, or would it be something in the meshing in the analysis mode?
Hi Chris:
From what I know, the FEA simulation does not "read" the SolidWorks Mates. All boundary conditions (fixtures, sliding conditions, contact, etc.) are input using the FEA Simulation side of the software. However the opposite is true for Motion Simulation. It does "read" the SolidWorks Mates. So, if you're doing an event-based simulation with both Motion and FEA, you can see that you will need to watch-out for SolidWorks assemblly mates (for the Motion portion), but you will not have to worry about Mates for the FEA Simulation (or just "Simulation", as they call it). Hope that helps. -Tony