How to solve this?
HI, I am new to Solidworks. I can design parts but not good with assembly. I am designing prosthetic ankle with Linear actuator at heel end but due to mate constrain it's not moving. There are 2 joints and on heel joint the rod is connected for Translational motion ( up and down motion). what mate constrain should i use to move it?
Accepted answer
The joint at the end of the linear actuator would translate about the ankle joint in an arc. However because it is a straight linear actuator it can’t move in an arc. It can only move in a straight line. Solidworks treats these bodies as absolutely rigid. It solves the constraints to two unmovable fixed positions. (See the attached image. prosthetic.JPG)
You of course are wanting the ankle to flex and be controlled by the linear actuator. Not only will this not work in Solidworks, this will not work when it’s actually constructed without bending and possibly damaging the linear actuator.
The linear actuator needs to be mounted to an additional pivot on the “calf” rather than having a rigid attachment like it is now.
If the linear actuator is in fact flexible in nature then you need to model this in your constraints. Instead of using a regular mate constraint, Part6 probably needs to be constrained to a single point on the actuator. This keeps it aligned with the actuator but allows the joint to follow an arc around the ankle. (See the attached image prosthetic_FLEXIBLE.JPG)
