Browser

The Dynamic Simulation browser shows the elements of the mechanism. It provides access to each of them so that you can select, modify, or remove them. The Dynamic Simulation browser has the following parts:

Element names

Assembly	Name of the mechanism.
Parts	Part name (assigned during part creation), a colon (:), and the occurrence number.
Joints	The type of joint, a colon (:), joint number, and in parentheses, the names and numbers of the two joint components. For example: Revolution:1 (part1:1, part2:1)
Gravity	Gravity.
Forces	Force number (assigned according to the order of external force creation), and, in parentheses, the name of the part receiving the force.
Torques	Torque number (assigned according to the order of external torque creation), and, in parentheses, the name of the part receiving the torque.

Browser hierarchy

All components initially appear in the Grounded Group. When joints are created,

• The associated components move into the Mobile Groups.
• The joint appears in the appropriate group according to the joint category.
• The constraints making up the joint type are listed as children of the joint. When a contributing constraint is suppressed, the joint type updates and the suppressed constraint is represented as a child of the component it is associated with.

First level	Second level	Third level	Fourth level	Fifth level
Assembly	Grounded Group	Parts	Constraint (suppressed)
(The top level of the hierarchy.)	(Rigid components linked to ground on one end and all parts not yet used by the dynamic definition of the mechanism.)	Subassemblies
		(Parts are always rigid.) (Subassemblies are composed of parts and/or other subassemblies.)
	Mobile Groups	Parts
		Subassemblies
		Welded group	Parts	Constraints
			Subassemblies
	Standard Joints	Individual standard joints	Constraints
	(Standard joints except for welding.)
	Rolling Joints	Individual rolling joints
	Sliding Joints	Individual sliding joints
	Contact Joints	Individual contact joints
	Force Joints	Individual spring/damper/jack (or actuator )
		Individual 3D contact joint
	External Loads	Gravity
		Individual forces
		Individual torques

Special conditions

	Identifies a joint with an internal force or torque applied, an imposed motion, or any other user inputs in the joint property box (for example, bounds).
	Identifies a joint that makes the kinematic chain over constrained.
	Any unavailable item is disabled or suppressed. This issue may be because the item is either suppressed by the software for various reasons or intentionally suppressed by the user.
	This condition occurs when the assembly constraints of a standard joint are suppressed
Revolution:1 (door:1, pillar:1)	Bold letters identify parts linked to selected objects.

Context menu commands

The following are the options that may appear on a context menu.

Adaptivity	Sets the component’s adaptivity state. Adaptive components may change during component editing. Before setting this state, you should familiarize yourself with adaptivity concepts.
Add Force	Opens the Force dialog box. Add an external force except gravity. Available when you right-click External Loads.
Add a joint	Opens the Insert Joint dialog box. Add a joint manually. Available when you right-click Rolling Joints, Sliding Joints, Contact Joints, or Force Joints.
Add Torque	Opens the Torque dialog box. Add an external torque. Available when you right-click External Loads.
Body Properties	Opens the Body Properties dialog box for the selected item. Edit properties for the item. Available when you right-click the grounded group, a grounded part or subassembly, or a joint.
Burst weldment	Undoes a weld. Right click a welded group. Only available if Automatically Convert Constraints to Standard Joints is off.
Color Mobile groups	Assigns predefined colors to the various mobile groups. The Grounded group uses the color “glass”. If the Glass color is not present in the Styles Library, the assigned assembly color of the component is used. This option aids in analyzing component relationships. To return the components to their normally assigned colors, uncheck the checkbox in the settings dialog box or right click the Mobile Groups node and select Color Mobile Groups
Constraint	Displays the constraint creation dialog box. Add constraints to the assembly. Added constraints display in the browser relative to the components they are used applied to.
Contact Set	Adds the selected component to a contact set.
Create Component	Opens the Create Component dialog box. Create a component in the context of the assembly. Available when right-clicking in browser blank space and when clicking the display background with nothing selected.
Define gravity	Opens a dialog box. Unsuppress gravity and define the gravity vector. Available when you right-click gravity.
Delete	Deletes the selected item from the mechanism. Available when you right-click a constraint, a trace, a force, a torque, or a part selected for export to FEA.
Delete all joints	Deletes all joints in the selected category. Available when you right-click Standard Joints (except when Automatically Convert Constraints to Standard Joints is selected), Rolling Joints, Sliding Joints, Contact Joints, or Force Joints.
Delete joint (actuator for a spring/damper/jack joint)	Deletes the selected joint. Available when you right-click any joint except a standard joint when Automatically Convert Constraints to Standard Joints is selected.
Dimension Display	Expands to display a list of dimension display options. The command is associated with the assembly modeling environment.
Edit	Component Available with components, this command edits the model in place within the assembly context, Assembly components that are not being edited are shown in a faded condition. Constraint Opens the Constraint dialog box. Edit the constraint. Changing the constraint will affect the joint type. Force Opens the Force dialog box. Modify the definition of the selected external force. Available when you right-click any external force except gravity. Joint Opens the Insert Joint dialog box. Edit the definition of the selected joint. Available when you right-click a standard joint, a 2D contact joint, or a force joint. Torque Opens the Torque dialog box. Modify the definition of the selected external torque. Available when you right-click any external torque.
Enabled	Right click a component in the model browser or graphics area. Defines component selectability. When enabled a component can be selected. When not enabled, a component cannot be selected.
Find	Opens the Find dialog box. Locate a particular element quickly. Available when you right-click the assembly.
Flexible	Right click a component in the model browser or graphics area. Defines a subassembly state. When flexible, joints can be added to the subassembly. When not flexible the subassembly is rigid.
Grounded	Sets the grounded condition for a part in an assembly. Grounding removes all degrees of freedom from a component. Changing a component’s grounded state in the simulation context causes the joints to update and deactivates joints where necessary.
Help topics	Opens the Help home page. Available when you right-click anything in the Dynamic Simulation browser.
Ignore DOF	Right click a component in the model browser or graphics area. Some actions cause a change to the degrees of freedom (DOF). If it is not what you want, you can set Ignore DOF and override the change. Enabled when Automatically Convert Constraints to Standard Joints is active.
iMate Glyph Visibility	Toggles iMate glyph visibility.
Isolate Components	Hides components that are not involved in resolving the select constraint. Accessed from the constraint context menu.
Lock DOFs	Locks all of the degrees of freedom for the selected joint. Available when you right-click a standard joint.
Measure	Displays a list of available measure commands from which you can choose. These are commands related to the assembly environment.
Open	Opens the selected model in a separate window. If a subassembly, you see only those parts participating in that assembly. If a single part, you see no other components.
Place Component	Opens the Place Component dialog box. Place a component in the assembly. Available when right-clicking in browser blank space and when clicking the display background with nothing selected.
Rebuild weldment	Updates the weldment to include latest modifications. Available when you right-click the grounded group or a grounded part or subassembly. Only available if Automatically Convert Constraints to Standard Joints is off.
Retain DOF	Right click a component in the model browser or graphics area. Some actions cause a change to the degrees of freedom (DOF). If this behavior is not what you want, you are able to set Retain DOF and override the change. Enabled when Automatically Convert Constraints to Standard Joints is active and specific constraint conditions were met, such as gear sets, pins, and so on. It allows the dynamic simulation environment to remove DOF for things like bolts, screws, cotter pins, and so on, thereby simplifying the kinematic chain.
Suppress	Constraint Removes the constraint from contributing to the definition of the joint. This results in joint type changes or joint deactivation. Force Removes the selected force from all subsequent calculations without removing it from the mechanism. Joint Removes the selected joint from all subsequent calculations without removing it from the mechanism. Torque Removes the selected torque from all subsequent calculations without removing it from the mechanism.
Weld parts	Welds one grounded component to one mobile component. Available when you select both a component in the grounded group and a component in the mobile group and then right-click the component in the mobile group. Automatically Convert Constraints to Standard Joints must be set to Off. Note: Both components must be selected for Weld parts to be available.
Visibility	Makes this component visible in the graphics window. A check mark to the left of the command shows that it is enabled. Available when you right-click a part or a subassembly.