V5 Kinematics is an extremely user friendly product and can be used by any CATIA

novice, all that is required is a very basic understanding of V5 assemblies. It is one of the
funnest (is that a real word), coolest and easy to use products from Dassault. Besides all
that, its also incredibly useful. This article will cover the basics of kinematics in a very
simple and easy to understand manner.

Kinematics allows you to make your assemblies move. Of course we engineers like to use
fancier names, like “mechanism simulation” or “product animation”, but kinematics is really
just making parts move, or is it? And what exactly does “move” mean? Actually we do
need to watch our terminology (my fancy name for words) a little because there are
actually several closely related topics that are often confused with kinematics.

What is Kinematics

Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of a part:

Put one end of a stick into concrete and
push on the other end. The stick will
bend (move) but this is not kinematics.

Finite Element Analysis of assemblies:

Build a house on concrete and then blow
on it. The house certainly is an assembly
and it does bend a little under the wind (in
Kansas they bend more) but this is not
kinematics.

Dynamic Analysis: Imagine a crane

picking up a big block. If the block is to
heavy the crane might tip over. The
crane has moving parts, but additionally
the moving parts are subjected to forces
(gravity, the weight of the block, or even
the inertia of the crane itself as it moves).
This is like kinematics on steroids, but
this is not kinematics.
 Deformable Dynamic Analysis: Imagine
the same crane again, lifting the same block,
only this time we let the crane parts bend.
This is kind of a combination of kinematics,
FEA, and dynamic analysis, but you guessed
it, this is not kinematics.

Kinematics: The traditional view of

kinematics starts with an assembly of parts
that are connected together by a variety of
movable joints. One of the joints is moved
causing the assembly to move. We don’t
associate loads or weights with the parts, we
simply are moving the assembly of parts
through some range of motion. This is what
we do with CATIA V5 DMU Kinematics and
this is kinematics.

What are Degrees of Freedom (DOF)

A part floating in space can move in 6

possible ways. It has 6 Degrees of Freedom
(DOF): 3 translation and 3 rotation.

6 DOF

A joint allows movement in only specific ways. Here

a Hinge joint only allows movement in one rotation.
1 DOF

Assemblies can have more than

one DOF.

They must have at least 1 DOF.

1 DOF 2 DOF 0 DOF

(not allowed)
Now that we have all that fuss out of the way let’s turn our attention to V5 kinematics.
V5 Kinematics Intro
Here is the outline we will follow. Later we will simplify this procedure list down to 4 steps.

V5 Kinematics
0. Get Ready

1. Create Mechanism
2. Fix (anchor) a part
3. Define Joints
4. Commands
5. Simulate (make it move)

6. Other Stuff (collision checking,…)

 Step 0: Get Ready
Assembly
xxx

First you must to have all your parts in an

assembly. Each part needs to be in a
separate model (of course this is the proper
separate
V5 procedure anyway). The assembly may
models
contain sub-assemblies, but as a beginner we
will start first with just a simple assembly
made up of parts.

Also as a beginner you should delete any constraints in your assembly. Some
(but not all) kinematic joints are based on assembly constraints. You may use your
assembly constraints, but only if they are the proper kind for the proper joint.
Sound like a mess? Well it can be. Just delete them and let V5 create the proper
ones as it needs them.

Notice this branch called “applications”, this

is where your kinematics will go.
Kinematics is just one of the many different
kinds of V5 applications (like the Rendering
product) that can be stored with your
assembly.

Go to the Start menu and select the

DMU Kinematics workbench

Step 1: Create a Mechanism

From the menu select::

Insert  New Mechanism

This is the bucket where all your kinematic

stuff will be placed. You can actually have
more than one mechanism stored within an
assembly, but again as a beginner we will
use just one mechanism.

Actually I often skip Step 1. If you go straight to Step

2 and try to define your Fixed part then V5 will
prompt you at that time to create a new mechanism.
 Step 2: Fix (anchor) a Part
xxx

At least one part needs to be held still

and not allowed to move.

For the Four Bar Assembly I selected the

Base as the part to remain fixed.

Insert  Fixed Part…

Step 3: Define Joints

V5 has a variety of joints you can select from.

Select the type of joint that is appropriate.

Then when the Joint Definition Panel appears

simply select the requested elements.

The Revolute Joint requires you select::

2 axis
2 planes

For our Four Bar Assembly we

chose to use 4 Revolute Joints.

Insert  New Joint  Revolute…

 Step 4: Commands
xx

Commands are applied to joints.

They are what forces the motion.

You must have a command for every DOF of your mechanism.

In the case of our Four Bar Assembly our mechanism has 1 DOF, therefore,
we need to define one command.

Revolute Joint
Revolute Joint

Revolute Joint
Commanded

Revolute Joint

Fixed part

To define a joint to command

simply double click the joint
(on the part or in the
specification tree) and select
the check box (in this case:
Angle driven).

How will you know if you have

created enough commands?

Easy V5 will tell you.

When it tells you, go to Step 5.

 Step 5: Simulate (make it move)
xxx

Now you can get things moving.

•Select the Simulation Icon

•Select Mechanism.1
•Then OK on the Select panel

You may create several simulations

in an assembly but since we are
beginners we will settle for just one.

Move the slider to move the mechanism.

Step 6: Other Stuff (collision checking,..)

That’s enough for now. There are many, many more features within the
V5 Kinematics workbench but this is enough to get you started.

Some of these features are also integrated with other workbenches.

For example collision checking is included in several workbenches, such
as V5 DMU Navigator.
Summary
Here’s what we have covered up to this point.

V5 Kinematics
0. Get Ready

1. Create Mechanism Optional: Step 2 will prompt if skipped.

2. Fix (anchor) a part
3. Define Joints These can be done in any order.
4. Commands
5. Simulate (make it move)

6. Other Stuff (collision checking,…)

I think we can simplify this list a little:

V5 Kinematics
0. Get Ready
Our final & improved
procedure list.
1. Create Mechanism
2. Fix, Joints, Commands
3. Simulate

4. Other Stuff

You say you want more!.

How about a short V5 Kinematics Video CD that goes

into more depth. Contact the Brian or Shawn for the
specifics on this and a variety of other V5 videos.

Authors:
Brian C. Barsamian and Shawn Ehrstein are well known as outstanding educators and
for their dynamic presentations at COE.

Brian C. Barsamian Shawn Ehrstein

MSC Software WSU CADCAM Laboratory
bcbarsamian@yahoo.com shawn@cadcamlab.org