I am simulating an assembly that uses extension springs to provide a force. Once pretension and the initial position of the spring is taken into account by reducing the spring length, the spring is substantially shorter than the distance between the connected components. This is normal in an extension spring application as it is their entire purpose. For some reason the simulation crashes immediately when trying to simulate this. I'm not sure if it is related to the length or the force output, but there are consistent issues in motion analysis across several different assemblies I have made that simulate perfectly with springs that don't have much deflection or that don't have springs at all, and the moment deflected springs are added they get this error. Is there any way around this? It is just a linear force equation, is there a substitute I can use that actually works? I have tried using different integrators and altering every simulation setting as well. This is the error that I get on starting the calculation:
At time 0.000000000E+0 the integrator is unable to start/restart. Possible Causes:
(1) The accuracy required for the numerical solution can not be attained.
Relax (increase) the value of the acceptable integration ERROR.
(2) Incompatible redundant constraints, a lock up, or a bifurcation
situation. The latter two indicate a mechanism design problem.
(3) The system includes a zero (or relatively small) mass on a part with
an unconstrained translational degree of freedom.
Make sure you have mass on all parts with translational degrees of freedom.
(4) The system includes a zero (or relatively small) inertia on a part
with an unconstrained rotational degree of freedom.
Make sure you have inertias on all parts with rotational degrees of freedom.
(5) An Adams element has a function expression that equals exactly itself.
For example,
SFORCE/id1,I=id2,J=id3,ROT,FUNC=SFORCE(id1,jflag,comp,rm),and
DIFF/id4,IMPLICIT,IC=0,FUNC=DIF1(id4).
Similarly,
VARIABLE/id5, FUNC=VARVAL(id5)*TIME
equals itself at 1 second. Avoid setting an Adams element equal to itself.