How do I modified this car model to restrict the 3 axes movement of the hubs?

Dear sir, this is my whole suspension assembly model with a righd chassis. I imported this model from Solidworks. However, the hubs movement is not what I want, I tried a lot of method in Solidworks, but if I don't use spherical joints between the hubs and the arms, the movement of the tyre would be resticted. So can you tell me what should I do to restrict the movement of the hubs only in Z axis or what places can I modified in the SW? As you can see from the figure, the hubs can move in 3 axes. By the way, my matlab version is 2014b. Can I just restrict it in Matlab? Well now I found out if I don't change the CAD model, it is impossible to restrict the motion of the suspension in Z axis. Hence I have to use ball joints between the hubs and arms. So can I set constraints to restict the motion of the hubs? I mean to keep the hubs dont move around.

Answer 1

[Christoph Hahn]

Dear Shuo, when importing from CAD system (here: SolidWorks using Simscape Multibody Links add-in) internal mechanics aren't taken into account. Mechnical properites such as spring stiffness or damper coefficient are not taken into account and you have to model them in Simscape Multibody (formerly known as SimMechanics).

I invite you to have a look into our Simscape online training which is free for student teams -> Formula Student Training

Simscape version 2016b has a nice feature that allows to edit your CAD models without the need to re-model in Simscape Multibody -> Video: MATLAB and Simulink Racing Lounge: Updates to Simscape Products in R2016a

Let me know whether that was helpful, Cheers Christoph