Universal Joint
A universal joint, also known as Hooke’s joint or Cardan joint, is commonly used to transmit rotational motion between shafts that have different orientations. You can use the Universal Joint node in 3D components to simulate this behavior. Physically, this joint is made up of pair of hinge joints, oriented perpendicular to each other, connected by a cross shaft or gimbal. The universal joint is an abstract joint where the gimbal is not modeled and both the shafts are directly connected to each other. In general, this joint is used for the purpose of transfer of mechanical power from one shaft to another shaft. The added degrees of freedom in this joint are the relative rotations about the two legs of the gimbal that form joint axis and second axis.
See Prismatic Joint for these settings — Attachment selection, Center of Joint, Joint Elasticity, Joint Forces and Moments, and Sketch.
Shafts Orientation
Select an Input shaft orientation — Specify direction or Select a parallel edge.
•
For Specify direction enter a value or expression for ei0. The default is (1, 0, 0). The direction is given in the coordinate system selected in the Coordinate system selection section.
•
For Select a parallel edge an edge can be selected on the Input Shaft Orientation subnode, which is added automatically. The vector from the first to the last end of the edge is used to define the input shaft orientation. Any edge in the model can be used. Select the Reverse direction check box to reverse the direction of the shaft orientation.
Select an Output shaft orientation — Specify direction or Select a parallel edge.
•
For Specify direction enter a value or expression for eo0. The default is (1, 1, 0). The direction is given in the coordinate system selected in the Coordinate system selection section.
•
For Select a parallel edge an edge can be selected on the Output Shaft Orientation subnode, which is added automatically. The vector from the first to the last end of the edge is used to define the output shaft orientation. Any edge in the model can be used. Select the Reverse direction check box to reverse the direction of the shaft orientation.
Gimbal Orientation
Select an Auxiliary axis — Perpendicular to the plane of shafts or User defined. For User defined enter a value or expression for eaux0 based on space dimension. The direction is given in the coordinate system selected in the Coordinate system selection section.
Select an Axis connecting Gimbal and Input shaft — Same as auxiliary axis or Rotated auxiliary axis. For Rotated auxiliary axis enter a value or expression for the Rotation about input shaft θg0.
Universal Joint Theory
Location in User Interface
Context Menus
Multibody Dynamics>Joints>More Joints>Universal Joint
Ribbon
Physics tab with Multibody Dynamics selected:
Global>More Joints>Universal Joint