Simscape multibody link plugin with Solidworks cannot solve subassemblies flexibly.

I tried exporting an assembly from solidworks to simscape multibody using the simscape multibody link plugin. However, the exported model has subassemblies which are all rigidly connected. However, when I import each subassembly separately into simscape, it seems to work be working as expected (parts connected with joints). I tried changing the settings to solve subassemblies using flexible settings. However, it made no difference.

Answer 1

[Steve Miller]

Within SOLIDWORKS, you need to edit the properties of the subassembly within the main assembly and set it to "flexible". See documentation.

Your main assembly refers to subassemblies. Within a SOLIDWORKS assembly, you can specify if a subassembly is to be treated as a set of rigidly connected bodies (setting "Rigid") or a set of independent bodies connected by mates (setting "Flexible"). Simscape Multibody Link can either treat the subsystem as rigid OR it can use whatever setting is specified in the assembly. If the "Solve As" assembly within SOLIDWORKS is set to "Rigid", Simscape Multibody Link cannot treat it as a set of parts connected by joints. Exporting and importing the subassembly independently, however, will result in a multibody model with joints because it avoids this setting within the assembly.

Below is a screenshot of an example setting within SOLIDWORKS.

--Steve