Mechanism Design and Mechanism Dynamics > Mechanism Design > Creating Mechanism Models > Analysis > Position Analyses > To Enter Preferences for Position and Kinematic Analyses
  
To Enter Preferences for Position and Kinematic Analyses
Use the Preferences tab on the Analysis Definition dialog box to specify time domain, locked entities, and initial configuration information for position and kinematic analyses.
Use the items in the Graphical display area to specify the time domain for your analysis. Enter a Start Time, and then choose one of the items from the list. The parameters that you use to specify the time domain depend upon which item you select. Enter values as explained below to specify the time domain:
• Length and rate—Enter the End Time and Frame rate or Minimum Interval to define the analysis time domain.
• Length and frame count—Enter the End Time and Frame count to define the analysis time domain.
• Rate and frame count—Enter the Frame count and Frame rate or Minimum interval to define the analysis time domain.
 
* Frame rate and Minimum interval are complements of each other. The length, frame rate, frame count, and interval of the motion run are related by the following formulas:
* Frame rate = 1/Interval
* Frame count = Frame rate * Length + 1
Use the Locked entities area to specify which bodies or connections in your mechanism remain locked during your dynamic analysis. Locking bodies fixes the position of one body relative to another during the defined analysis. Locking connections removes the motion associated with the connection's DOF during the defined analysis. A disabled connection is temporarily suppressed and is ignored by the analysis.
Use the Initial configuration area to specify a configuration for the start of the position or kinematic analysis. The configuration describes the relative orientation of the parts and bodies in your mechanism. Select either option:
• Click Current to use the positions of the bodies in the screen configuration.
• Click Snapshot to select a snapshot saved using the Drag dialog box. Only the position of bodies in your mechanism is used from a selected snapshot. Any constraints saved in the snapshot are ignored.
You can run the analysis immediately after defining it. When you click Run, the analysis definition is checked for errors in the same way as when you click OK. The defined analysis is run but is not added to the model. When you click OK, the definition is finished, the analysis created, and the analysis definition is added to the model.