Thanks for trying it out.louisgag wrote: ↑Tue Jul 28, 2020 7:55 pm @mfasano and @T-Garnier
I've tried the addon quickly, it's a nice start.
I would recommend you provide a step-by-step example.
This will allow more people to try it and give feedback or code... perhaps you'll get some important tips.
I for myself find it somewhat difficult to understand even the simplest task of creating a body.
I don't have much experience with assembly4, but probably many users don't since it's still only in the development version.
Writing a tutorial is a priority. I will make that my highest priority. T-Garnier suggested this too. I have made a recent update, no new elements, just minor changes. I will update instructions in the repository's wiki.
I decided to use assembly4 as a base because there is no constraint solver, MBDyn takes care of that, and The LCSs that define the constraints make it so I can set position and orientation with a click instead of calculating and typing in several input fields.
Two things about using Assembly4 with this workbench. You need to create the bodies inside the Assembly4; I do this because I don't know if I can get properties like center of mass or moment of inertia from a part in a linked file. There is discussion about doing this in the assembly 4 thread; post 675 gives instructions to do it.
https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic. ... &start=260
A popular way to use assembly 4 is to create a master sketch and place LCSs in key points, and then link LCSs of parts to the LCSs on Master sketch. I don't do this. I calculate positions and orientations relative the the node, usually at the center of mass. It is easier when the LCS is on the part. I may look in to having the calculations of position and orientations more general. I use the LCSs that are directly in the parent assembly as fixed reference frames and nodes.