6.4: Procedure for determining the EoM
After obtaining a thorough understanding of kinematics, Newton’s laws, mass and force, we are now in the position to predict the motion of point masses under the influence of forces, the essence of kinetics. The procedure to determine and solve the equations of motion can be subdivided in the following steps:
- Sketch the point masses, massless mechanisms, force vectors and constraints
- Choose and draw a suitable coordinate system (CS)
- Determine the constraint equations
- Draw the free-body diagram (FBD) for each object
- Determine the equations of motion per object using Newton’s second law
- Solve the equations of motion (EoM) in the presence of constraints
We will discuss these steps in more detail in the following sections.