Hi all,

Im asking a question on behalf of my friend.

He is carrying out an initial analysis of a section of suspension arms and wants to determine the reaction forces present on the fixed location (Pivot fixture applied)

He wants to record the reaction force present across the inside face of the rose joint (Blue arrow).

In the picture below he has shown me two recordings of the same surface but one with and one without the pink reference point (he is using an axis created going through the rose joint centre). There is a remarkable difference is regards to the reaction force displayed when he selects the axis as a reference point (pink below) and de-selects the reference axis.

My understanding of this (And I may be wrong here which is why I came here) is that by selecting a reference axis/plane (pink) you are essentially restricting the DOF that the component would actually travel and by deselecting a reference point you are allowing for more uniformity.

Could someone please help me determine which is the correct method and a reason why?

Thank you

Ryan