Inventor Simulation continued:

Once you get your gears working, add on your piston & connecting rod.

Make part of a crank shaft:

Constrain all of your parts so that they move correctly!  Just move them around as you constrain them, delete/edit the constraints that don't work, and ask for help if you need it!!


One way to constrain your piston:

Create a point on the center of your piston to use as a reference for constraints.

Create a plane through the center point of your piston and parallel to the gears:

Use the plane that goes through your piston to make an axis.

Looking from the top view, make the axis out of an intersection of a world plane, and the plane that runs down the center of your piston.

You should be able to use the same drive that you had for your gears, to drive your entire piston assembly.