The CATIA Kinematics course, often taught under the name DMU (Digital Mock-Up) Kinematics Simulator, focuses on the dynamic movement of mechanical assemblies within the CATIA environment. It enables engineers to simulate, analyze, and validate a product’s moving parts before any physical prototypes are built.

​💡 Course Overview (Purpose)

​The primary goal of this course is to teach participants how to create a kinematic mechanism from an existing CATIA assembly and simulate its motion based on defined joints and commands. This allows designers to:

• ​Approve Mechanism Functionality: Verify that the mechanism operates as intended.
• ​Generate Optimized Designs: Use analysis results to refine the size and movement of parts.
• ​Analyze Interference and Clashes: Detect potential collisions between parts during movement.

​📚 Learning Content (What you will learn)

​The typical curriculum progresses from defining the fundamental components of motion to advanced analysis and simulation techniques.

​1. Mechanism Definition

• ​Overview of DMU Kinematics: Understanding the specific workbench and its role in the design process.
• ​Mechanism Creation: Defining a mechanism structure using parts within an existing assembly.
• ​Fixed Part: Identifying and defining the stationary component (ground) of the mechanism.
• ​Converting Constraints to Joints: Automatically or manually converting CATIA Assembly Constraints into motion Joints.

​2. Joint Types and Commands

• ​Creating Joints: Defining various mechanical joints based on degrees of freedom (DOF), such as:
  • ​Lower Pair Joints: Revolute, Prismatic, Cylindrical, Spherical.
  • ​Advanced Joints: Gear, Rack, Screw, Universal, Cable.
• ​Degrees of Freedom (DOF): Analyzing and managing the available movement in the mechanism.
• ​Defining Commands: Assigning inputs (e.g., Angle-driven, Length-driven) to control the motion of a joint.
• ​Kinematic Laws: Using Knowledgeware (Laws) or 2D curves to define complex, time-based motion profiles for commands.

​3. Simulation and Analysis

• ​Running Simulations: Animating the mechanism’s motion using commands and setting simulation parameters (e.g., frames per second).
• ​Interference/Clash Analysis: Running a continuous clash detection check during the simulation to identify collisions.
• ​Trace Analysis: Generating a curve that traces the path of a point on a moving component.
• ​Swept Volume: Creating a 3D volume that represents the entire space occupied by a moving part.
• ​Sensors and Plots: Using sensors to measure and plot results like velocity, acceleration, and position of components over time.

​✅ Learning Outcomes (What you will be able to do)

​Upon course completion, participants will be able to:

• ​Design Functioning Mechanisms: Create kinematically correct models of moving systems like suspensions, robotics, and complex linkages.
• ​Validate Motion: Simulate the actual movement of an assembly to ensure it operates within specified physical limits.
• ​Optimize Movement: Use trace analysis and plotted results (speed, acceleration) to fine-tune motion and reduce wear or vibration.
• ​Resolve Interference: Identify and correct design flaws by analyzing component clashes during the full range of motion.
• ​Generate Digital Reviews: Produce accurate recordings and reports of mechanism behavior for design review and manufacturing documentation.

​🎯 Ideal For

​This course is ideal for professionals and students who work with products involving relative motion between parts:

• ​Mechanical and Automotive Engineers
• ​Product Development Engineers
• ​Robotics Designers
• ​Computer-Aided Engineers (CAE)
• ​Advanced CATIA V5/3DEXPERIENCE Users who already have a strong foundation in Assembly Design and want to specialize in motion analysis.