Editing a Front Multi-link

This front suspension was selected in the Wizard. After you have stepped through the Wizard, you can use the System/Assembly panel to make further adjustments.

  1. In the Model Browser, click on Frnt multilink susp to view the System/Assembly panel. The Front Multi-link suspension offers a standard set of attachments, options, and properties that you can set.
  2. Click the Attachments tab.
    Attachments determine what bodies residing outside the suspension system that the suspension attaches to. The Front Multi-link includes attachments for the front lower control arm (LCA), rear lower control arm (LCA), front upper control arm (UCA) and rear upper control arm (UCA).

    The front and rear lower control arms attach to the sub-frame by default. When a sub-frame is not present in the model, the Assembly Wizard attaches both lower control arms to the vehicle body. If the vehicle body is not present, for example in a half vehicle model, then the Assembly Wizard will attach the lower control arms (LCA) to ground.

    The front and rear upper control arms (UCA) attaches to the vehicle body by default. When a vehicle body is not present in the model, then the Assembly Wizard attaches the upper control arms to ground.

    1. Set the attachment for the lower or upper control arm by revising the attachments within the Attachments tab on the System/Assembly panel.
  3. Click the Options tab.
  4. For Compliant, make a selection:
    • No: The lower ball joints for all the four control arms are changed to non-compliant joints and behave as pure ball joints. Similarly, the front and rear bushings for the upper and lower controls arms are changed to non-compliant joints and behave as pure universal joints.
    • Yes:
  5. For Spindle compliance, make a selection:
    • No:
    • Yes: The wheel body connects to the wheel hub via a universal joint and bushing. The universal joint allows camber and toe deflection of the wheel relative to the wheel hub. The wheel hub bushing’s Kx and Ky rates determine the amount of spindle compliance introduced.
  6. The Multi-link suspension includes a static alignment dataset and form holding toe and camber variables that determine the orientation of the wheel relative to the knuckle and body in the global coordinate system. The toe and camber variable values control the location of the spindle align point relative to the wheel center point through parametric expressions. To set the values for toe and camber, in the Model Browser, click Data Sets > Static Wheel Alignment or Forms > Static Wheel Alignment and alter the values of the toe and camber variables in the panel.
    You cannot set the toe angle and camber angle independently for the left and right wheels; the toe and camber values must be symmetric.
    The toe and camber values that you set will change the location of the spindle align point relative to the wheel center point via parametric expressions. You can view these expressions by selecting the spindle align point and examining its X, Y, and Z locations.