yang686526

modelling a rope in solidworks 2006/ 2007
i am trying to model a braided rope in solidworks. can anyone advise me on how to do this. i have tried many things and have been unsuccesful. if anyone has any suggestions please let me know.
thank you!!
dudesw,
is the rope straight, or does it hang between its ends. a straight rope would be a couple of helices, with the circle sections overlapping a bit.
i heard somewhere that ropes and chains hang in a hyperbolic cosine. modeling this with helices will be fun!
jhg
just how accurate do you need to model it? a sweep with twist of the rope cross section along a 3d sketch should give you excellent visual results. making it move like a rope in an animation will be more problematic, but there are a lot of experts here who can help you with that.
timelord
thank you drawoh and timelord for your responses. i think i did not explain myself well. i need to model more of a braid. so the individual strands have to interweave. i am having trouble with the weave. please suggest if you can. thank you again!!!

also, i need to model it accurately as i would like to preform an fea analysis on the model in compression.
in sw 2007 you can also use the flex command.
chris
solidworks/pdmworks 08 3.1
autocad 06/08
ctopher,
can you explain how i can create a weave with multiple strands with the flex command? this was one of my attemps earlier that was unsuccessful. i also tried projecting a profile on a curved surface. is there a way to how a helix follow a guided curve? would this work?
thank you!
dudesw,
you are going to have to search a manual or the internet for whatever rope braid you are using. perhaps a boy scout manual or an outdoor survival book will tell you something. there are many ways to braid ropes.
there are ways to fake geometry like this, but not if you are doing fea.
jhg
compression?
"art without engineering is dreaming; engineering without art is calculating."
create a sketch with the strands where you want them, then extrude it to the required distance...plus a little more.
use the flex command to twist the extrusion as needed, then add bends via the flex command.
i have created braided wire like this. it takes a little practice, but works.
chris
solidworks/pdmworks 08 3.1
autocad 06/08
here is an example of the flex command (attached).
chris
solidworks/pdmworks 08 3.1
autocad 06/08