About Springs

A spring connects two points or a point to ground in your model. You can use a vertex as a point by selecting it. Any spring you add provides the stiffness that, you specify at the location on your model where you place it. The stiffness can be translational (force per unit length) or torsional (torque). The force generated by the spring is proportional to the amount of displacement that occurs—for example, if you double the displacement, you double the force.

When you model a spring, you must specify the spring's geometrical references, as well as its stiffness and orientation. Use Refine Model >

Spring to create springs. For some types of springs, you may need to assign spring properties. You can create spring properties by clicking Refine Model and then clicking the arrow next to

. Click

Spring Properties or click More from the Spring Definition dialog box as you are creating advanced or to-ground-type springs.

When you select the Refine Model >

Spring, the Spring Definition dialog box opens, which includes the following items:

• Type—When you select one of these types of spring from the drop-down list, the dialog box changes.

◦ Simple—This is the default type. You define a simple spring by specifying the extensional and torsional stiffness with a real-number value or a Creo Parametric parameter. You can select units for the extensional and torsional stiffness from the list or accept the default units.

◦ Advanced—You define an advanced spring by specifying the magnitude and direction of components for the spring extensional and torsional stiffness.

◦ To Ground—You define this type of spring by specifying the orientation of the components for the extensional and torsional stiffness in terms of a selected coordinate system.

• References—Use this area to select the geometric references for your spring. If you select valid geometric references before selecting

Spring Properties, the References collector displays your selections when the Spring Definition dialog box opens. Otherwise, select the desired geometry on the model.

If you switch between the Simple and Advanced types after selecting the references, the references are preserved in the respective collectors. However, if you change the type to Simple or Advanced from To Ground or vice versa, previously selected references are lost.

When you click OK to accept your definition, the software adds a spring icon to your model. You can control the visibility of springs on your model by using

Simulation Display on the Graphics toolbar, or by placing them on layers.

After you create a spring, you can edit or delete it by right-clicking on the spring idealization in the model tree and using Edit Definition or Delete command, as appropriate. If you are deleting a spring, Creo Simulate asks you for confirmation first.