Hello all,
I am modelling an engine for use in an FEA study and am starting to have a problem when adding detail. It could be an issue related to the accuracy settings but I'm not convinced. Before I get into any discussion on that I'll just describe the problem:
I have a model of the block which is, relatively speaking, quite detailed - It's ~3000mm x 1000mm x 1000mm. It is a single part - not an assembly. It has details in some features as small as a few mm (thicknesses, etc.). I am trying to bring in the crank shaft. My method is to model the shaft as a part, then make an assembly with it placed in the block, and then I "inherit" the shaft into the block part. The problem is that when I bring the shaft in, it loses its "solidity" - not just the shaft, but the whole model becomes surfaces.
I have done some testing, and have found that as long as the shaft does not touch the block (like if I assemble them side by side for example), it works.. the parts are solid. But if I assemble it with contact (interference or exact surface to surface contact), the problem occurs.
I am using Absolute Accuracy of 0.001 mm. That goes for both the block, and for all parts of the engine that I Inherit into it. I think that that accuracy is fine enough for what I'm doing, plus - the parts I'm trying to inherit at this point are much less "detailed" than what's already there. The block has around 1500 features on it so changing the accuracy on it now is a bit of a daunting thought!
What do you think? is this a problem of needing finer accuracy or can anyone think of other causes for this sort of behavior? I can't share the files unfortunately....
