So you are interested in dynamics? You have come to the right place!

Welcome to the Adams Getting Started page.

With Adams you can study all things dynamic, vibration, function, interaction, rigid and flexible.

About Adams

On this page:

1. Download and install the free Adams Student version
2. Easy getting started tutorials
3. Use Adams before you open your CAD product
   • Falling Stone
   • Inclined plane with sliding block
   • Lifting mechanism - Part 1
   • Lifting mechanism - Part 2
   • One Degree-of-Freedom Pendulum
   • Projectile Motion
   • Spring Damper - Part 1
   • Spring Damper - Part 2
   • Suspension System - Part 1
   • Suspension System - Part 2
4. More advanced tutorials

Download and install the free Adams Student version
To obtain a student version of Adams, go to MSC Sofware, register as a student by uploading an image of your valid student card and download the student version.

After downloading or obtaining a copy of the install file, watch this video on how to install Adams and test your installation with your very own first simulation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHXG6GpjCow?rel=0

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Design with Adams, not with CAD

Read this blog first to see how using Adams before using your CAD tool will save you a lot of time. The argument is that your idea or concept will change a number of times and if you invest time in creating a 3D model in CAD first, you will be reluctant to make many changes to it afterwards. If you simulate your idea or concept first, in Adams, using simple geometry bodies, you will get a better understanding about how it works and be able to identify problems very quickly and be able to change the design within seconds and re-evaluate it immediately. If you want to first update your detailed CAD model, you will waste valuable time that could be better spend improving the design or overall idea.
After improving the design up to a point where there is not much more to improve on, then you can export the simple geometry of your model to your CAD system, create geometry that considers manufacturability and interference, import it back into your Adams model and replace your concept geometry with your actual geometry. With the updated mass and inertias now very accurate, you can re-analyse your model and check for any significant problems or required changes. At this point, any changes required to the CAD model will be minor and you would have reached a much better design in a fraction of the time someone else would who started creating detailed CAD geometry first.

Read the article here using the design of an ancient catapult as an example.

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Getting started tutorials
Now that you have Adams installed, get started by following these easy tutorials:

Falling Stone

Inclined plane with sliding block

Lifting mechanism - Part 1

Lifting mechanism - Part 2

One Degree-of-Freedom Pendulum

Projectile Motion

Spring Damper - Part 1

Spring Damper - Part 2

Suspension System - Part 1

Suspension System - Part 2

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More advanced tutorials:

• Using Flexible bodies in Adams
• Creating more complex flexible bodies for use in Adams
• Extracting load cases from Adams for use in FEA
• ...more to follow on design of experiments (DOE), Monte Carlo Simulations and more Optimization and design exploration techniques

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