Whoops! Simulation Drop Test

It happens to me all the time.  I drop my phone, I drop my calculator (yes I still have a TI-89). I drop everything. Guess what? So does your customer!  Let’s look at how Simulation Professional and the Drop Test Study can help engineers design for klutzes like me.  

The Drop Test study is a special Non Linear analysis included in the Simulation Professional Linear offering.  Drop Test gives the user access to a short time duration dynamic impact analysis.  A simulation for dropping things on the floor! Drop Test predicts the stress due to impact and how the shock wave propagates through the design.

Let’s look at the easy and straight forward the setup is for performing a Drop Test.

Step One: Choose your study type.  Drop Test

Step Two: Assign material to the model.  The material will carry over from SOLIDWORKS if it is assigned during the modeling process. 

Step Three: Define / Edit the problem setup.  The user can specify things like direction of gravity relative to the model, the height the object is dropped from, a rigid or flexible floor, etc.

Step Four: Specify the Result Options, including how long after impact the simulation runs, and the resolution of the results.

Step Five: Mesh the model.  The easy part.

Step Six: Run the study.  Even easier.

Step Seven: Sit back and enjoy the super cool results.  Not only are they cool but they are very insightful giving the engineer valuable data. 

Drop Test is a specific study designed to give fast accurate results, ease of use, and insight into dynamic impact problems.  If you design any type of component or assembly that could possibly be dropped (most everything), Drop Test will help you design for that whoops moment. 

Have you used Drop Test before or have questions? Let me know in the comments below!