Assembly of Universal Coupling in CATIA - Part Design, Mechanism Design, Sheet metal and Surface modelling

CATIA abbreviates to Computer-Aided Three-dimensional Interactive Application which is best suited for operations like CAD (Computer Aided Designing), CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing), PLM and 3D design. In this article, we will make a mechanical design and assembly of universal coupling using CATIA software. While building this project you will be introduced to various concepts of CATIA such as part design, Mechanism design, sheet metal and surface modelling.

Universal coupling or U-Joint or Universal Joint shaft is used to transmit the power through shafts by connecting the shafts in different angles. Which also allows the rear axle to move up and down freely without affecting power transmission. Universal Joints are found in transmission shafts of automobiles, industrial motors, propeller shafts, power transmission shaft of helicopter blades, etc.

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Project Implementation

1. Open CATIA goto start, Mechanical design, part design and enter part name. First, we are going to create a cross.
2. Use sketch and constrain option to draw a circle and extrude it to make a cylinder.
3. Now draw a cylinder perpendicular to the previous cylinder with the help of pad definition make the edges smooth using edge fillet option.
4. Now we will create a bearing, draw two circles (big and small) and extrude it using pad definition. Then save it.
5. Next step is to create a shaft, Draw a circle and trim it to form a semi-circle and make a U-shape, by drawing two parallel lines. Extrude it using pad definition tool.
6. Now create a hole in the shaft using constraint and pocket tools.
7. Make a cylindrical rod on the middle of the U shaped shaft using constraint and pad tools.
8. Make the sharp edges smooth using edge fillet tool. Now save the file.
9. Goto start - mechanical design - assembly design. Load the bearing first and fix the component.
10. Now click on existing component option and load the shaft then using coincident constraint place the bearing in the middle of the shaft.
11. Using the offset constraint place the bearing on the rod of the shaft.
12. Now load the cross using existing component option and position the cross perfectly to the hole using coincident constraint option.
13. Place the component inside the shaft with the help of offset constraint option.
14. Now load the shaft again and place it to another end of the cross to form a linkage.
15. Now again load the bearing and place on the other shaft. We will differentiate the components by giving them colours and materials.
16. Select apply material and choose the component and apply the colour that you want to be applied.
17. Similarly, perform the same actions for other components also.

Now the design is finished and you can perform the dynamic simulation by assigning the particular function for each component  You can perform the simulation with the help of DMU kinematic option.

There are various methods and designs for making universal joints using CATIA. Try all of them and explore all the tools.

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• CATIA

• CATIA
• CAD
• Mechanical

Assembly of Universal Coupling in CATIA - Part Design, Mechanism Design, Sheet metal and Surface modelling