AutoCAD Mechanical's Deflection line calculations. Before starting a Deflection line calculation, you must run a moment of inertia calculation to get the
results block which contains the data needed for the beam deflection equations listed in the table. Here we have two choices that were run, one for a
composite section made up of an unequal length L bracket backed by a rectangular plate and the other is a calculation run from a hollow rectangular
sharp cornered tube. I’ll go to the Calculation panel on the Content tab and select the Deflection Line option. The first thing you're prompted for is to
select a Moment of inertia block, I will select the one for the composite section. Now indicate the starting point or existing beam. By existing beam
this would be taking the load set from a calculation that has already been run. What I will do here is pick a starting point. And since I want this beam to
be 60 inches, I will drag to the right and type in 60. A dialog box comes up and this dialog box allows you to start adding predefined supports and
predefined loads. I’ll start with a cantilever support and place it on the left-hand side. I’ll Place another cantilever on the right-hand side. If you wish to see
the graphical display, the button with the three right-hand arrows on it allows you to temporarily close the dialog box, change your view of your model and
then go back into the dialog box. So there’s the right-hand cantilever, and there's the left-hand cantilever. Press enter to go back to the dialog box.
And now I’ll place a floating support in the middle. This is a complex support situation, it can be solved through classical formulas, but it's going to
be easier to use mechanicals tools. Now I’ll apply some loads. Let’s start with a point load. Place a point load approximately 18 inches in from the left.
For the rotation angle, I’m going to click up above, and for force let's make that 1000 pounds. The units of pound force are being applied because I'm
in an English based drawing that I started from the AM_ANSI template file. You could start from a different template file and work in metric units as
well. I’ll add a distributed load. That’s going to start approximately 12 inches to the right of the midpoint and continue to about 30 inches to the right of the
midpoint. The load is going to be approximately 500 pounds per inch. And if I go back to the graphical display you can see how I've applied that
all the way to the end. Press enter to go back to the dialog box. And I can also place a moment. I’ll place the moment directly over that support. The
bending moment in pound force inches, well make that 500. And I will edit the distributed load. Let’s take that down to 250 pounds per inch. There's
also an erase button to allow me to delete that load or any of the supports and then I could apply a new load using any of the tools shown. The other
supports that I have not chosen to use are a fixed in X position support, which would force the beam to stay put and not move laterally, there is a fixed in Y
support, and a fixed in both, such as a pure pin connection. Next I would pick the type of material that is going to be used for this beam. I will select
the Table button, and in this case I'll use the ANSI materials, and there's a table of available choices. I will select the SAE 1045. That information is put
into the 2 fields in the middle of the dialog box or if you know your specific material properties, you could type in your own values there. When you have
fully defined your loading and your supports, you then go to the Moments and Deflection or Deflection buttons to calculate those results. I’ll
choose Moments and Deflection. You next have an opportunity to pick what direction the graph is going to be drawn along. Main axis 1, Main axis 2,