Mass Properties

Mass property calculation was one of the first features implemented in

CAD/CAM systems.

• Curve length • Mass

• Cross-sectional area • Center of mass

• Centroid of a cross-sectional area • First moment of inertia

• Surface area • Second moment of inertia

• Centroid of a surface area • Products of inertia

• Volume

• Centroid of a volume

Mechanical Engineering dept. 1

 Curve Length
Consider the curve connecting
two points P1 and P2 in space.

The exact length of a curve bounded by

the parametric values u1 and u2, it applies
to open and closed curves.
Mechanical Engineering dept. 2
 Cross-Sectional Area
A cross-sectional area is a planar region bounded by a closed boundary.
The boundary is piecewise continuous

To calculate the area A of the

region R, consider the area of
element dA of sides dxL and
dyL. Integrate over the region.

The centroid of the region is

located by vector rc.

The length of the

contour is given by the
sum of the lengths of
C1, C2,…..Cn.
Mechanical Engineering dept. 3
 Surface Area

The surface area As of a bounded surface

is formulated the same as the cross-
sectional area. The major difference is that
As is not planar in general as in the case
of B-spline or Bezier surfaces.

For objects with multiple surfaces, the total surface area is equal
to the sum of its individual surfaces.

Mechanical Engineering dept. 4

 Volume
The volume V can be expressed as a triple integral by integrating the
volume element dV

The centroid of the object is

located by the vector rc.

The volume Vm of a multiply connected

object with holes is given by,

Vhj –Volume of hole j

Mechanical Engineering dept. 5
 Mass & Centroid
Mass
The mass of an object can be formulated the same as its volume by
introducing the density.
dm = ρdV
Integrating over the distributed mass of the object,

m=
∫∫∫ ρdV
m
Assuming the density ρ remains constant through out the object
we have,
m=ρ
∫∫∫ dV = ρV
V
Centroid

Same formulation as for volume,

rc=
∫∫∫ r dm
m
replace volume by mass. m
Mechanical Engineering dept. 6
 First Moment of Inertia
First moment of an area, mass, or volume is a mathematical property that is
useful in various calculations. For a lumped mass, the first moment of the mass
about a given plane is equal to the product of the mass and its perpendicular
distance from the plane. So the first moment of a distributed mass of an object
with respect to the XY, XZ, and YZ planes are given,

Substituting the centroid

equation, we obtain,

Mechanical Engineering dept. 7

 Second Moments of Inertia
The physical interpretation of a second mass moment of inertia of an
object about an axis is that it represents the resistance of the object to
any rotation, or angular acceleration, about the axis. The area moment
of inertia represents the ability of the object to resist deformation.

The second moment of inertia about a given axis is the product of the
mass and the square of the perpendicular distance between the mass
and the axis.
Mechanical Engineering dept. 8
 Products of Inertia
In some applications of mechanical or structural design it is necessary to know
the orientation of those axis that give the maximum and minimum moments of
inertia for the area. To determine that, we need to find the product of inertia for
the area as well as its moments of inertia about x, y, and z axes.

Mechanical Engineering dept. 9

 Mass Properties – CAD/CAM Systems
CAD systems typically calculate the mass properties discussed
so far. Even a 2D package (AutoCAD) calculates some of the
mass properties.

You are responsible for setting up the correct and units for length,
angles and density

SolidWorks

Determine the mass properties

Mechanical Engineering dept. 10
 Mass Properties - SolidWorks
Option button allows you
to set the proper units

Mechanical Engineering dept. 11

Ken Youssefi
 Mass Properties – Unigraphics NX5

Calculates volume, surface area, circumference,

mass, radius of gyration, weight, moments of area,
principal moment of inertia, product of inertia, and
principal axes.

2D Analysis
Calculates and displays geometric properties of
planar figures. This function analyzes figures after
projecting them onto the XC-YC plane (the work
plane). True lengths, areas, etc., are obtained.

Mechanical Engineering dept. 12

Ken Youssefi
 Mass Properties
Unigraphics NX5

Calculates principal moment of inertia,

circumference, are and center of gravity of
Sections. Primarily, used for automotive
body design.
Mechanical Engineering dept. 13
Ken Youssefi
 Mass Properties – Unigraphics NX5
When the software analyzes the selected bodies, the information window displays the
analysis data. The following table provides a brief explanation of the information.

Area/Volume/Mass Obtains the total face area, volume and mass of a 3D object.
Centroid/1st Mom Obtains the center of mass, or Centroid.
Moments of Inertia Obtains the moment of inertia for certain 3D objects of uniform
density about specified axes.
Products of Inertia The Products of Inertia, along with the Moments of Inertia, form
the inertia tensor, and are important in rotational dynamics.
Principal Axes/Moments The Principal Axes/Moments is an orthogonal system of three
axes through the center of mass such that the three products of
inertia relative to the system are all zero.
Radius of Gyration Calculates the radius of gyration.
Information Displays the calculated data for all of the Mass Properties
options previously discussed in the Information window.
Relative Errors Are estimates of the relative tolerances achieved in calculating
the mass properties. Often the relative errors are less than the
specified relative tolerances, indicating that the mass property
values are correct to within tighter tolerances than those
specified. If only a single accuracy value is specified, then +/-
Range Errors are given.

Mechanical Engineering dept. 14

Ken Youssefi
 Mass Properties – Unigraphics NX5
Measure Bodies

Output

Mechanical Engineering dept. 15

Ken Youssefi
 Transformations - Translation
Geometric transformations are used in modeling and viewing models.
Typical CAD operations such as Rotate, Mirror, zoom, Offset, Pattern,
Revolve, Extrude,… are all based on geometric transformations.

Translation – all points move an equal

distance in a given direction.

P* = P + d

x* = x + dx
y* = y + dy
z* = z + dz

Mechanical Engineering dept. 16

 Transformations - Rotation
Rotation – This operation requires an Rewriting in a matrix form
entity, a center of rotation, and axis of
x* cos(θ) -sin(θ) 0 x
rotation
y* = sin(θ) cos(θ) 0 y
z* 0 0 1 z

P* = [ Rz] P

1 0 0
[ Rx] = 0 cos(θ) -sin(θ)
0 sin(θ) cos(θ)

Point P rotates about the z axis cos(θ) 0 sin(θ)

[ Ry] = 0 1 0
x* = x cos(θ) – y sin(θ)
-sin(θ) 0 cos(θ)
y* = x sin(θ) + y scos(θ)
z* = z P* = [ R] P
Mechanical Engineering dept. 17