3 Replies Latest reply on Oct 15, 2013 4:11 PM by Jared Conway

    How do I bond a beam end to a solid part?

    Earl Powers
    Earl Powers Oct 14, 2013 11:14 AM

      Hello All,

      I am having trouble getting a beam end joint to bond to a solid face. I created the beam from a solid, extruded shape.  The end of the solid (beam) was sniped and shaped to connect to another solid. I split the solid (beam)just beyond the sheped end and in Simulation created a beam out of the remining continuous solid.  When I mesh the model I get a result that looks like picture below.  Notice the gap between the beam end and the solid shape.  When I look at the beam end, the yellowish green ball (joint end) appears right where the cut is, away from where I initially created the split.  When I run the simulation, the plate (in orange) folds right where the cut is and the stresses go through the roof. 

      I cant understand why the joint would end so far from where I modeled the beam end.  Any thoughts?

      For comparison I'm including a photo showing the model before meshing, which shows the split

      BEAM-END-JOINT.jpgBEAM-END-JOINT-NOMESH.jpg

        • Re: How do I bond a beam end to a solid part?
          Jared Conway
          Jared Conway Oct 14, 2013 9:08 PM (in response to Earl Powers)

          so you want the end to be a solid mesh and the rest to be a beam and you want them connected end to end?

           

          i'd go and check that in a separate file to see if you get the behavior you want from that type of connection.

           

          seems like a better fit for a shell all the way or a beam all the way.

           

          regarding the cause of the gap, it sounds like a model issue. it "should" let you do what you want, but in the long run, not sure you're going to get what you want out of it the way you're trying to do it.

            • Re: How do I bond a beam end to a solid part?
              Earl Powers
              Earl Powers Oct 15, 2013 10:25 AM (in response to Jared Conway)

              jared,

              Thanks for your reply.  I chose to split the solid part, creating the beam out of the continuous portion, because the attachement to the transverse stiffener at the end has small snipes, limiting contact between the beam and the transverse stiffener to just the web. The picture doesn't show this, but the beam flange does not touch the end stiffener. I was under the impression that Beams dont work well (give accurate results) with oddly shaped ends;shapes that have snipes, or angled cut-backs, etc.

              My intent was to have the end of the Beam portion be bonded to the end of the solid portion, which would then be bonded to the transverse stiffener (by the web only), effectivley making one continuous beam all the way.

              On another note: regarding beam joints, ect.should I be able to grab and move the green-yellow joint ends?.  If so, then either I am missing a command/setting, or I have software issues.

              I'm using Solidworks 2013, SP4.0

              Thanks again for your help

                • Re: How do I bond a beam end to a solid part?
                  Jared Conway
                  Jared Conway Oct 15, 2013 4:11 PM (in response to Earl Powers)

                  you can't move joints, you can merge them, but they are based on the geometry. why do you want to move them?

                   

                  prove out your method on a simpler problem. this will also help you rule out whether it is a model or software problem.

                   

                  i think the concern here is connecting a beam and solid end to end. i don't think that is the intention of the bonding but it may work. i'd want to check against solids and shells before going down that road.

                   

                  but overall you are right, beams are the same all the way through. if you can't have a constant cross section (some options here) then shells or solids are a better choice.