SolidWorks API - Electromagnetic Dynamics

Question

Is it possible to simulate custom forces (in my case, electromagnetic) using the SolidWorks API for Animator/Motion Study/COSMOS/EMS?

I'm looking for any combination of API's that would expose the required data to be able to simulate the dynamics of either electrical positive/negative or magnetic north/south forces.

The very basics of what I need to be able to do is:

• Model two cubes
• Mark a point on one as having positive charge and the point on the other as negative charge (or north/south magnetism)
• Press "Go"
• Watch them come together and stick

Once I can figure out how to do this, I can go through with the more complicated code that I'm trying to write (that's not the problem). I'm simply stuck on where to begin. I have searched and searched but cannot find a definitive answer, the documentation is sparse and hard to grasp.

If this is definitely not possible or not worth it to attempt in SolidWorks, then that's an acceptable answer. I never would have chosen SolidWorks if I was left free to pick the platform, but it was chosen for me.

EDIT
It seems COSMOSMotion API's IDDMActionReactionForce class is what I was looking for. Can anyone point me to an example of using it to define a custom force between two objects?

Answer 1

I can't speak about SolidWorks, so my answer may be irrelevant — BUT I have used ray-tracing software to model dynamic systems.

I my case, I was simulating the circumstances of lunar and solar eclipses. The ray-tracing software (POVRay) took care of generating an image of the scene including the Sun, Earth and Moon, but I had to calculate the positions of the various bodies for each frame of the animation.

I suspect this may be the case with modelling Electromagnetic Dynamics, and you will have to calculate the positions of the bodies involved at intervals, so that Solidworks will render the scenes of an animation.

I may be all wrong about the capabilities of SolidWorks, so I wish you luck.

I was tempted to say that "it's impossible" because you said it would be "an acceptable answer", but that would be too easy.

Answer 2

After much trying, my conclusion is SolidWorks is not the appropriate platform for this. It doesn't let you hook into its internal physics calculations and the Force object I spoke of is way too inefficient for the problem I needed to model. Theoretically, it will work to bring two cubes together along side SolidWorks' built in gravity/collision detection simulation elements but when confronted with an n-body problem, it was apparent that it wasn't made for that.