The FEMAP documentation has a series of tutorials. This is a good place to start. I believe that this exact problem is presented.
"On the human scale, the laws of Newtonian Physics are non-negotiable"
To add to what tbuelna said, when it comes to surfacing all 3D CAD tools are not created equal. The mid-level tools (Solid Edge, Solid Works, and Autodesk Inventor) are much less capable and I would be hesitant to model aircraft loft surfaces with those. The high end tools, CATIA, CREO, and NX...
kingnero makes a very good point. If you're making these in the U.S. and you don't want all of your profits to fund some injury lawyer's vacation home, you might have to ruin your design with that silly warning.
"On the human scale, the laws of Newtonian Physics are non-negotiable"
Of what material are the two bits actually in contact with the rod you're trying to lift?
"On the human scale, the laws of Newtonian Physics are non-negotiable"
Have you tried drop-testing them since you've discovered the problem? Have you checked the fracture toughness of any of the damaged components?
"On the human scale, the laws of Newtonian Physics are non-negotiable"
How is the part loaded during assembly and operation? What are the environmental conditions in which it is used? What about UV and thermal cycling?
"On the human scale, the laws of Newtonian Physics are non-negotiable"
You could output your model as a .bdf file, then use excel to convert all of your bars to MPC's, then read them back into your model. It would ease the process if you renumbered your nodes prior to export to make the nodes you want as the dependent nodes to be lower or higher than the...
It seems you're looking for a "black box" solution to your problem, which suggests you really don't know what you're doing. As Brad805 pointed out, depending upon what question you're trying to answer, hand calcs should suffice. If you don't understand the physics of your problem, trying to use...
Additionally, you might add some carefully sized torsion springs at the hinge to assist your piston.
"On the human scale, the laws of Newtonian Physics are non-negotiable"
You might have a very hard time rotating that to 90 degress in the configuration you have shown. As the frame rotates, the moment arm decreased until, near the end of the stroke, it's very small. It would work better if you moved your bracket attached to the frame out and ended the cycle with...
Get yourself a copy of "Fatigue of Structures and Materials" by Schijve and read it.
"On the human scale, the laws of Newtonian Physics are non-negotiable"
