User manual MATLAB SIMMECHANICS RELEASE NOTES

[. . . ] SimMechanicsTM Release Notes How to Contact The MathWorks Web Newsgroup www. mathworks. com/contact_TS. html Technical Support www. mathworks. com comp. soft-sys. matlab suggest@mathworks. com bugs@mathworks. com doc@mathworks. com service@mathworks. com info@mathworks. com Product enhancement suggestions Bug reports Documentation error reports Order status, license renewals, passcodes Sales, pricing, and general information 508-647-7000 (Phone) 508-647-7001 (Fax) The MathWorks, Inc. 3 Apple Hill Drive Natick, MA 01760-2098 For contact information about worldwide offices, see the MathWorks Web site. SimMechanicsTM Release Notes © COPYRIGHT 2002­2010 by The MathWorks, Inc. The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement. The software may be used or copied only under the terms of the license agreement. [. . . ] You must still restore the block link to its parent library, whether that parent is the SimMechanics block library or your own. Two Blocks Now with Tunable Parameters These SimMechanics parameters are now tunable from their respective block dialogs: · The Gravity vector field of the Machine Environment block. · All three parameter fields of the Body Spring & Damper block. 20 Version 2. 6 (R2007a) SimMechanicsTM Software See "Limitations" in "Running Mechanical Models" for more about SimMechanics tunable parameters and the Simulink documentation for tunable parameters in general. Demos Expanded Five new demos have been added. Angular Motion Equivalence The mech_gimbal_transform demo shows the equivalence of a body's angular motion as measured by Joint Sensors and as measured by Body Sensors. Joint Limits Two demos illustrate how to model limits or clearance on joint motion: · mech_jointlimit_prismatic · mech_jointlimit_revolute The first illustrates limits on translational motion; the second, limits on rotational motion. Stochastic Oscillator and Controller Two demos simulate a mixture of deterministic and random forces with a model of a micromechanical damped linear oscillator: · mech_brownian_osc · mech_brownian_osc_control The first model has no controller; the second, a control force in addition to the damped spring and white noise forces. Modeling Constraints with SimMechanics Software A new MATLAB Digest article explains how to model mechanical constraints with SimMechanics blocks. The article uses a set of four existing SimMechanics demos as illustrations. 21 SimMechanicsTM Release Notes Version 2. 5 (R2006b) SimMechanics Software This table summarizes what's new in Version 2. 5 (R2006b): New Features and Changes Yes Version Compatibility Considerations Yes--Details labeled as Compatibility Considerations, below. Fixed Bugs and Known Problems Bug Reports at Web site Related Documentation at Web Site No New features and changes introduced in this version are described here. · "Computer-Aided Design Translator for Pro/ENGINEER Available via the Web" on page 22 · "SolidWorks-to-SimMechanics Translator Now Available Only via the Web" on page 23 · "New Demo" on page 24 · "Modeling Flexible Bodies with SimMechanics Software" on page 24 Computer-Aided Design Translator for Pro/ENGINEER Available via the Web A new computer-aided design (CAD) Pro/ENGINEER-to-SimMechanics translator is available. You install and use this translator with Pro/ENGINEER. The translator converts a Pro/ENGINEER CAD machine assembly into an XML file in the Physical Modeling format. The XML file represents the assembly in a form that you can use to generate a SimMechanics block diagram model dynamically equivalent to the original CAD assembly. To generate models, use the import_physmod command. 22 Version 2. 5 (R2006b) SimMechanicsTM Software Installing the Pro/ENGINEER-to-SimMechanicsTranslator Obtain and use the installer executable by locating and downloading its archive at www. mathworks. com/products/simmechanics/. A README page is provided that describes installation and configuration details. Translator Documentation Help files accompany the Pro/ENGINEER-to-SimMechanics translator. They include two HTML pages and a PDF book. These files are independent of the MATLAB help system. Translator Examples Some examples of Pro/ENGINEER CAD assemblies are included with the Pro/ENGINEER-to-SimMechanics translator. One of the examples is a robot arm assembly. The corresponding XML file in Physical Modeling format, robot. xml, is located in the toolbox/physmod/mech/mechdemos/ folder, relative to your MATLAB root. Compatibility Considerations Versions of Pro/ENGINEER compatible with the Pro/ENGINEER-to-SimMechanics translator are listed at the MathWorks Web site. The translator is available only for the Microsoft Windows (32-bit) operating system. SolidWorks-to-SimMechanics Translator Now Available Only via the Web The existing SolidWorks®-to-SimMechanics translator for the SolidWorks CAD platform continues to be available via the Web, at www. mathworks. com/products/simmechanics/. However, it no longer ships with the SimMechanics product. Compatibility Considerations Versions of SolidWorks compatible with the SolidWorks-to-SimMechanics translator are listed at the MathWorks Web site. 23 SimMechanicsTM Release Notes The SolidWorks CAD platform and the SolidWorks-to-SimMechanics translator are available only for the Microsoft Windows (32-bit) operating system. New Demo This version of SimMechanics software includes one new demo model, mech_brownian_osc, a stochastic linear harmonic oscillator based on microand biomechanics. Modeling Flexible Bodies with SimMechanics Software A new MATLAB Digest article and related technical paper explain how to simulate flexible bodies with SimMechanics models and third-party finite element analysis applications. A set of models accompanies the technical paper in a compressed zip archive available from MATLAB Central. In the MATLAB Desktop File Exchange tool, search for "Modeling Flexible Bodies in SimMechanics". 24 Version 2. 4 (R2006a) SimMechanicsTM Software Version 2. 4 (R2006a) SimMechanics Software This table summarizes what's new in V2. 4 (R2006a): New Features and Changes Yes Version Compatibility Considerations Yes--Details labeled as Compatibility Considerations, below. Fixed Bugs and Known Problems Bug Reports at Web site Related Documentation at Web Site No New features and changes introduced in this version are described here. · "New Block Dialogs and the Simulink Model Explorer" on page 25 · "Joint Spring & Damper Adds Extra Simulink State When Connected to a Revolute" on page 25 · "Improved SolidWorks CAD Translation" on page 26 New Block Dialogs and the Simulink Model Explorer Most of the SimMechanics block dialogs have been upgraded and are now compatible with the Simulink Model Explorer. See the Simulink documentation for more about Model Explorer. Block Dialogs Not Rendered in Model Explorer Model Explorer cannot render the dialogs of these blocks: · Shared Environment · Point-Curve Constraint Joint Spring & Damper Adds Extra Simulink State When Connected to a Revolute Each Joint Spring & Damper block connected to a revolute primitive now adds a Simulink state to your model. These states are in addition to other normal 25 SimMechanicsTM Release Notes Simulink states, such as those associated with Integrator and Transfer Fcn blocks. [. . . ] The XML file represents the assembly in a form that you can use to generate a SimMechanics block diagram model dynamically equivalent to the original CAD assembly. To generate models, use the new import_physmod command. See "import_physmod Command for Generating Models" on page 42 below. Installing the SolidWorks-to-SimMechanics Translator Obtain the self-extracting executable archive SimMechanics_Translator_for_SolidWorks. exe by locating and downloading its archive at www. mathworks. com/products/simmechanics/. 41 SimMechanicsTM Release Notes import_physmod Command for Generating Models Using the CAD-to-SimMechanics translator, you export a CAD assembly into an XML file in the Physical Modeling format. (See "Computer-Aided Design Translator for SolidWorks" on page 41. ) This XML file represents the assembly in a form that you can use to generate a SimMechanics block diagram model dynamically equivalent to the original CAD assembly. [. . . ]