Quote Originally Posted by SScnc View Post
Thank you for your help and advice. When I set it to true and IPS, it doesn't show any deflection, as shown below.

Can you please tell me what settings I need to do in the simulation to be sure I'm setting the weight correctly so the deflection is accurate ?

I have the block set as "plain carbon steel" and it's weight shows as about 1500lbs.

Thanks !

The question you ask is simple, but unfortunately the answer may be quite complex. In order to get accurate simulation results you need to setup the simulation so that it mimics what you have in real life as closely as possible. Seemingly small details can make the results completely wrong. I'm not even remotely an expert in simulation but I've messed with it enough to know that it can be very tricky. So I make no guarantees on the soundness of my advice on this. How's that for confidence boosting?


Ok, so first I have a few questions.

Are you trying to test the C channels or just the thin plate?
Are the C channels rigidly attached to the floor, or are they able to slide? (bolted, welded, etc.?)
Are the C channels rigidly attached to the thin plate, or can the plate slide? (bolted, welded, etc.?)
Does the thick plate that you're using to represent the weight of the machine, represent what the bottom of the machine is actually like? Meaning is the bottom of the machine a flat area the same size as the thick plate? Or does the machine have feet? If the machine does have feet, the placement of the feet on the thin plate will have a significant impact on the deflection.
Is the machine rigidly attached to the thin plate?


What version of Solidworks do you have, and are you using the full simulation package or just simulation express? If you have the full package you can run the simulation as an assembly and possible get more realistic results, but the setup is more complicated. Given that what (I think) you're trying to figure out is relatively simple, an assembly is probably not needed. I ask what version of SW you have because if it's 2013 or newer I can put a simple example together and post it. Though if you have a student version that may also be an extra complication, I'm not sure.


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