Why Rigid Body Assumptions Are Not Always Enough
Multibody simulation traditionally treats components as rigid, which works fine until flexibility matters to the result. Vibration, deformation underload, and dynamic interaction between components can all significantly change system behavior and ignoring them can leave real design issues undetected until physical testing. Coupling rigid and flexible bodies in the same model closes that gap, but it also raises practical questions about how to bring flexibility into a multibody system without losing accuracy or blowing up computation time.

Webinar Scope
In this webinar, 4RealSim will show how rigid and flexible body dynamics can be combined within a single multibody simulation. Participants will learn how flexible bodies are represented and integrated into a multibody system, when flexibility needs to be modeled versus when a rigid assumption is sufficient, and how this coupled approach leads to more accurate predictions of system behavior.

Topics Covered

• Why rigid body multibody simulation can miss important behavior

• Representing flexible bodies within a multibody system

• Coupling rigid and flexible bodies in the same simulation

• Deciding where flexibility matters and where it does not

• Sources of flexible body data: modal reduction and FE import

• Practical modelling considerations for stable, accurate coupled simulations

• Examples of design issues only visible once flexibility is included

What Coupled Rigid Flexible Simulation Delivers

• More accurate prediction of dynamic system behavior

• Earlier detection of vibration or deformation related issues

• Confidence in results without over modelling every component as flexible

• A practical bridge between simple rigid body models and full FE analysis

• Runs on the same solver license as your existing Abaqus license

Who Should Attend?

• Multibody simulation engineers looking to capture flexible component behavior

• Analysts whose rigid body results have not matched physical test behavior

• Engineers in automotive, rail, aerospace, or machinery design

• Abaqus license holders looking to extend into multibody simulation

• Anyone weighing when flexibility needs to be modeled versus when rigid is enough