5.2 Assemblies and variation studies

COUPLE has been developed to make the study of multiple assemblies and variants as easy as possible. An assembly is a configuration of connected components, loads and links. Each assembly can contain multiple variants, being them a variation of components, load, links or a combination of them.

You should use the variation study feature when the assembly is the same (amount of components, interfaces, etc.) but you want to try different models (e.g., different bushing types, etc.). on the other hand, if 2 assemblies have major differences (e.g. amount of interfaces, amount of components, coordinates of the interfaces), you need to create two different assemblies.

Variation studies

Using the variation study feature, you can select one (or more) component(s) of an assembly and add multiple variants to it/them. COUPLE will then calculate all possible combinations of the variants. You can specify variants for components, loads and stiffness models.

Creating variation studies

To create a variation study, you first need to create the assembly in the 3D viewer, with models or empty assembly parts (read below how to). You then need to create a variation study for each component (or group of components) you want to study and add all the different variants. COUPLE will then compute all combinations of the different variants.

To create a variation study, complete the next steps:

1. Open the Studies tab.
2. Click + Add Variation Study, and rename it.
3. Click + Add Assembly Part.
4. Select in the design area the desired component(s).
5. Click + Add Variant, and rename it.
6. Drag and drop the variants from the library to the correct variant placeholder.

Assemblies

Creating a new assembly

You can create a new assembly in a new tab.

To create a new assembly, complete the next steps:

1. Click on top of the design area.
2. Create the assembly.

Duplicating an existing assembly

If your next assembly is similar to an existing one, you can duplicate a assembly and edit it.

To duplicate an existing assembly, complete the next steps:

1. Right-click on the tab containing the desired assembly.
2. Select Duplicate.

Renaming assemblies

You can rename the assembly.

To rename assemblies, complete the next steps:

1. Right-click on the assembly tab.
2. Select Rename.

Deleting assemblies

You can easily delete an assembly.

To delete an assembly, complete the next steps:

1. Right-click on the assembly tab.
2. Select Delete.