...

Geometry

The Geometry of the Tertiary Truss is the most complicated part of the design process.  Many hours were spent creating the Solidworks geometry for the truss. This requires much time and practice in Engineering Design. However, this tutorial focuses on properly analyzing the structure, not creating it from scratch, so we will provide the created geometry.  ANSYS is able to import Solidworks files directly, however, it also requires the Solidworks program to be installed on the same machine, so we provide the file in .STEP format, the "neutral" format for computer modelling.

Click here to download the geometry file.

Unzip the folder, and open up ANSYS.  Use the import button to open up the file. (Remember to select "geometry file" from the drop down menu, so you can see .STEP files.)

Image Removed
Image Removed

After opening and generating the import, you should see the entire geometry has been detailed in the window.  You should take this time to familiarize yourself with the structure.

Line Body Truss

1. Parts

Part groupings are ways for ANSYS to automatically group pieces together and create automatic connections. We should create 2 part groups: the Truss K-1, and the Tertiary Subframe Surface.

...