I need to do a study involving rubber sealants. The catch here is that the seal is rotated by an external component, that is why we need to do a study on how the rubber reacts to the movement. If Solidworks is capable of estimating the movement and buckling it would be more cost effective than 3D printing a couple of rubber models.

I'm familiar with FEA's on rigid constructions but the rubber simulation is a new area. My question therefore is some pointers or help on how to start with the simulation set-up. The attached file shows the front view with the needed rotation. The bottom cylinder rotates to the point on the right (this is just the first step of the total movement).

What I started with was a non-linear simulation (as some other videos on rubber simulations), then fixed the upper part (which is going to be attached to a metal component). I followed with putting a remote load on the bottom part (which is moved by another component of this system), meshed it and ran the analysis, but it gave an error after the first step.

If you have any questions or need more information please ask.