I modeled a chain by repeating a link using the assembly tool "repeating from component to chain", the trajectory being composed of the 2 semicircles of the rollers carrying the chain and the 2 segments connecting them. So far so good, the chain adopts the expected behavior and scrolls from one pebble to another. My question is the following, is it possible to link the movement of the chain to the rotation of the rollers? I can't find a parameter of the position of the chain.
I looked at the belt/chain constraint but it only creates a gear type link between the pulleys by offering the possibility of creating a belt by sweeping but which is in fact static.
What I want are individual links that follow a trajectory by driving a sprocket like on a bike
Before asking you my question, I tried the structural dynamics by adding indentors on the links and teeth on the rollers, hoping for a happy interaction. I also tried a trajectory constraint on one of the links, thinking to recover its position in percentage to control it to the rotation of the rollers. Two nice fiascos .
Thank you very much for this link. I love the guy's accent, at least he is easily understood not like a Texan....
Indeed, a gear-type constraint manages to bind the chain to the sprockets. There is no logic to it, but it's like a heat wave, you have to deal with it. Why does he select the chain roller and the sprocket hub and not other entities, we will never know and maybe he himself does not know.
Rather than working on PDM, 3DExperience and other dancers SolidWorks should devote itself to improving the existing, The list is long of the illogicalities, instability and bugs that persist.
The gear constraint doesn't seem so illogical to me (even if it's not at all instinctive): we can consider, locally, the chain as a sprocket with internal teeth that works with a ratio of 1.