Connector - Pin

A Pin connector replaces the modeling of an actual pin joint. You can define one pin connector to connect coaxial cylindrical faces. The cylindrical faces or circular edges can belong to one body or to several bodies.

Type

The pin connector is available for static, nonlinear, buckling, frequency, and dynamic studies.

Cylindrical Faces/Edges Select all coaxial cylindrical faces or circular shell edges that are attached to the pin (maximum of 10 faces or shell edges). The selections must be coaxial. The selected edges must belong to predefined shell surfaces. Selected faces or edges do not need to have the same radius.

For sheet metal parts, select a solid cylindrical face, and the program transfers the pin connector to the circular edge of the mid surface shell.
  With retaining ring (No translation) Prevents relative axial translation between the cylindrical faces or edges connected to a pin.
  With key (No rotation) Prevents relative rotation between the cylindrical faces or edges connected to a pin.

Connection Type

Rigid The software models a pin connector with a beam element. Each end node of a beam (pin joint) is located at the centroid of the attached cylindrical face. A rigid connection connects the beam end nodes to the nodes of the attached cylindrical faces with rigid bar elements. The faces connected to a pin with a rigid connection cannot deform under loading, but can move as rigid bodies.
Distributed A distributed connection constrains the motion of each beam end node (reference node) to the nodes of the selected cylindrical faces (coupling nodes) in an average sense. A distributed connection allows the coupling nodes of the cylindrical face to move relative to each other.

Options

Units Defines the units for the pin stiffness values.
Axial Stiffness Type a value for the pin's stiffness in the axial direction.

For a pin connecting more than two cylindrical faces or edges, the software redistributes the axial stiffness based on each pin segment's geometric properties (such as sectional area and length). A pin segment connects two consecutive cylindrical faces, and has two end joints.

Option is unavailable if you select With retaining ring (No Translation).
When you define both axial and rotational stiffnesses, one stiffness value has to be larger than 0.0.
Rotational Stiffness Type a value for the pin's stiffness in the circumferential direction.

For a pin connecting more than two cylindrical faces or edges, the software redistributes the rotational stiffness based on each pin segment's geometric properties (such as polar moment of inertia and length).

Option is unavailable, if you select With key (No rotation).
Include mass Includes the mass of the pin in the simulation. The mass value is used in frequency, buckling, dynamic studies, and in static and nonlinear studies when you apply gravity and centrifugal loads.

Strength Data

Select Strength Data to perform a Pass/No Pass check for pin connectors. Available for static and nonlinear studies only.
Tensile Stress Area Define the known tensile stress area for the pin. Select its unit in Unit.
Pin Strength Yield strength of the pin material. Select its unit in Unit.
Safety Factor Define the safety factor for the pass/no pass design check of the pin. The pin fails when its combined load exceeds the ratio of 1/safety factor.

Material

Available when you select Strength Data.
Library Click Select Material to open the Material dialog box.
Simulation selects Alloy steel from the SOLIDWORKS Material library as the material by default.

Temperature-dependent material properties for materials assigned to pins are not supported. Only constant material properties are supported for pins.

Symbol Settings

  Edit Color Select a color for the symbols.
Symbol size Define the size of the symbols.
  Show preview Switches the display of the connector symbols in the graphics area.
  • After running a simulation with pin connectors, plot the deformed shape with a scale factor of 1.0 to ensure that no interference exists between components. When interference occurs, the results are not valid. In case of interference, apply no-penetration contact between the interfering faces and rerun the simulation.
  • If the cylindrical faces connected to a pin connector are initially coincident, apply a no-penetration contact to prevent bonding during a simulation.