SOLIDWORKS Simulation provides a variety of tools to show result forces. These can be very useful and informative. For instance, you may want to know what forces are required to 'hold' a part stationary when subject to an external load. This can then help to decide how robust an adjacent part needs to be. The good news is that with all the simulation studies (except Xpress) we can do this easily. Just rmb on the Results folder and select 'List Result Force...' You can then select 'Reaction Forces', 'Free Body Forces' and even 'Contact/Friction Forces'.
However, be careful how you interpret the results. A customer pointed out that the sum of his reaction forces did not match the applied force - which is impossible if the structure is in static equilibrium. The reason was that he had picked two adjacent faces which shared a common edge. Selecting each face independently gives the correct individual result. However, picking 2 faces reported the forces on the common edge twice (i.e. the nodal forces along the common edge were given for each face selection). However, the total forces reported in the table were correct.
Here are some screenshots ...
Andy Fulcher
Technical Manager
Solid Siolutions Management Ltd
