making a belt into a part

[ptc-4705505]

I'm trying to draw a tank tread to fit around my wheels. I have gotten the wheels to rotate in there socket. I have also made a belt, but I cannot get the part to work. I woukd like to get the tread to move with the wheels. Is this possible ? I've tried using a UDF but I dont know what to use as a UDF. Any help is awesome. Thanks.

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[TomD.inPDX]

There have been attempts to do this with chain links. It can get quite involved, even if you just want to drag the links. If you want to add Mechanism servo's and gearing to drive it, it might be even challenging.

But I am certain it can be done. If there is a point assigned to the belt's spline, you have a feature to use as a reference. From there you could define your tread (in the case of a continuous belt). The idea is that the sketch(es) related to the point are defined in such a way as to allow then sketch to move along the entire "trajectory's" -normal- (for lack of a better way to describe this).

If it were me, and it was simply a quick video to prove a concept, I would cheat. move forward only one cleat and reset. In a motion diagram, it would look like it is moving. Mechanism cannot regenerate features during a motion analysis (run) anyway.

If you could narrow how you want to use this might be helpful to provide advice. If you need a fully automated Mechanism driven unit, consider the chain link process.

Welcome to the forum Nathan.

[ptc-4705505]

I am just looking to create a tread that looks like a rectangular sweep around the belt curve, but functions as a moving part. The multiple sections idea is great but is a little beyond me at the moment. I am still new to cad software. creo learning community has a pro-e tutorial on how to do this but they are vague on some aspects, and I am using creo 2.0.

[TomD.inPDX]

I have done the little tape deck tutorial at one point. I looked at it after I made the previous post.

There are two thing involved with the tutorial; the drive mechanism that drives the pulleys. This is a Mechanism function that uses a fairly basic gearing technique. The only thing that requires dynamic movement in this case is the pulleys as you can see them, and they often create secondary motion that one may wish to analyze.

The second fundemental used here is the "perimeter" function. This is what moves the idler pulley into position. This leaves the creation of a curve... and the generation of the solid body to represent the belt. The belt is a simple sweep and most likely has no motion what-so-ever. I certainly do not remember any and it would be quite surprising if it did. However, I can see 1000's of uses for such functionality since "conveyors" are typically "belt systems" or "chain systems". To the best of my knowledge, it is not simple to set up any of these systems, and the chain system is the most dynamic.

Have a look:

MDX Linked Chain Model