Center of mass, also known as center of gravity, may be located using the following process:

• Create the structural model and run analysis.
  
  
• Use interactive database editing to export, into Excel, the following tables:
  
  
  • Model Definition > Connectivity Data > Joint Coordinates > Table: Joint Coordinates
    
    
  • Analysis Results > Joint Output > Joint Masses > Table: Assembled Joint Masses
    
    
• In Excel, calculate the location of the center of mass (com) for each coordinate direction. Use a weighted average in which assembled joint mass is the weight. For example, the x-coordinate of center of mass (x_com) may be calculated as follows:
  
  
  where:
  
  
  • x = x coordinate of individual joints
    
    
  • m = mass of individual joints

See Also

• Center-of-gravity determination tutorial