You can use the Bolted Connection Component Generator to design and check pre-tensioned bolted connections loaded with axial or tangential force. The purpose of the design calculation is to select an appropriate bolted connection after specifying the required working load. The strength calculation performs a check of the bolted connection. For example, you could check pressure in the thread and bolt stress during joint tightening and operation.
You can create and design bolted connections, and then enter them directly into an assembly.
On the ribbon, Design tab, Fasten panel, click Bolted Connection to open the Bolted Connection Component Generator dialog box. The Design tab is active. Connection type includes Through All or Blind. Select Through All.
Under Placement, you can choose which best fits your application. The placement methods are very similar to Hole feature creation placement methods. For example, By Hole is very similar to the Hole feature’s By Sketch command. Expand the drop-down and select By Hole.
The Select Start Plane button is active, so select the top face of Bolted_Connection_Plate_01A.ipt. The Select Existing Hole button is automatically activated, so select any hole. No matter which hole you select, Inventor knows that the holes are part of a pattern, and the Primary Hole of the pattern is highlighted and selected. Now, the Select Termination button is automatically activated, so select the rear face of Bolted_Connection_Plate_02A. You do not have to rotate the view of the model. Inventor automatically seeks out and finds the farthest opposite face as you move the cursor over the various parallel faces.
Next, select Follow Pattern. Now the Bolted Connection Generator automatically creates the holes and selects the proper bolt size based on the selected hole diameter. Expand the Thread drop-down and select ISO Metric Profile. The ISO Metric Profile Normal 6.600 mm is added to the Generator’s field.
On the right side of the Design tab, you can select fasteners for the bolted connection. You must add fasteners in the logical order: bolts first, then washers, and finally nuts if they are needed. In the Bolted Connection Component list, select Click to add a fastener. The Content Center opens, where available fasteners are displayed. You can specify both the standard and the category of a fastener to help narrow the selection. Expand the Standard drop-down and select ISO, and then set the Category to Bolts. Select ISO 4162 from the selection field. ISO 4162 M6 x 40 is added to the top of the Generator’s list, and is also previewed in the window.
To add a fastener to the Plate side of the assembly, select Click to add a fastener below the 6.600 mm drilled hole. The Standard should already be set to ISO and the Category to Washers, so select ISO 7094 and the washer is automatically sized to match the bolt.
To add a fastener to the washer, select Click to add a fastener below the ISO 7094 washer. The Nuts Category is already set, but you could set it to add another washer. Select ISO 4032 and the nut is added to the preview and is sized to match.
Select the Calculation tab. Here, calculations can be performed to test the fastener’s intended application. Expand the Type of Strength Calculation drop-down and select Bolt Diameter Design. Change the Maximal Axial Force value to 5500 N (Newtons). Change Number of Bolts to 1 ul if needed, and then click Calculate.
Now, the recommended Bolt Thread Diameter value has been calculated at 14 mm, and the model preview has updated to reflect the new thread diameter. Change the Maximal Axial Force value to 3500 N and click Calculate. The recommended Bolt Thread Diameter is recalculated and is now 12 mm. Change the Maximal Axial Force value to 1500 N, click Calculate, and the Bolt Thread Diameter is now 8 mm.
You can also find out how many bolts are required in the design. Change the Type of Strength Calculation to Number of bolts design and click Calculate. Under Bolt, the Number of Bolts is 1 with a Thread Diameter equal to 8 mm. Change the Maximal Axial Force to 5500 N and click Calculate. Now the Number of Bolts equals 3, with a Thread Diameter equal to 8 mm.
Try a couple more configurations. Change the Bolt Thread Diameter to 5 mm and click Calculate. Notice that the Number of Bolts now equals 8. Change the Bolt Thread Diameter to 6 mm and click Calculate. Now the Number of Bolts equals 6.
Click the Design tab. To create the bolted connection fasteners, click Apply. The File Naming dialog box opens, enabling you to change the file name of the phantom assembly created and the Display name of the connection. Click OK and the Bolted Connection Generator creates all of the selected components. Cancel the Bolted Connection Component Generator dialog box when it reappears. Notice that a Component Pattern has been added to the browser and its Elements contain a Bolted Connection.
Open Bolted_Connection_Plate_02A and you can see that the Bolted Connection Generator has added the necessary holes for the fasteners to the part, as denoted by a small lock symbol next to the hole feature. Switch back to the assembly file.
The Design Accelerator represents an important component of Functional Design. It provides engineering calculation and decision support to identify standard components, and it allows you to create standards-based geometry. The Design Accelerator tools simplify the design process by automating the selection and geometry creation, thereby improving initial design quality by validating against design requirements, and increasing standardization by selecting the same components for the same tasks.
Source: Autodesk
