SimMechanics Model and simulate multibody mechanical systems SimMechanics™ provides a multibody simulation environment for 3D mechanical systems, such as robots, vehicle suspensions, construction equipment, and aircraft landing gear. You model the multibody system using blocks representing bodies, joints, constraints, and force elements, and then SimMechanics formulates and solves the equations of motion for the complete mechanical system. Models from CAD systems, including mass, inertia, joint, constraint, and 3D geometry, can be imported into SimMechanics. An automatically generated 3D animation lets you visualize the system dynamics. You can parameterize your models using MATLAB® variables and expressions, and design control systems for your multibody system in Simulink®. You can add electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, and other components to your mechanical model using Simscape™ and test them all in a single simulation environment. To deploy your models to other simulation environments, including hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) systems, SimMechanics supports C-code generation (with Simulink Coder™). Learn more about physical modeling. Key Features ▪ Blocks and modeling constructs for simulating and analyzing 3D mechanical systems in Simulink ▪ Rigid body definition using standard geometry and custom extrusions defined in MATLAB ▪ Automatic calculation of mass and inertia tensor ▪ Simulation modes for analyzing motion and calculating forces ▪ Visualization and animation of multibody system dynamics with 3D geometry ▪ SimMechanics Link utility, providing an interface to Pro/ENGINEER®, SolidWorks®, and Autodesk® Inventor®, and an API for interfacing with other CAD platforms ▪ Support for C-code generation (with Simulink Coder) Modeling a Piston 8:57 Model a piston using multibody dynamics. Bodies, joints, and 3D visualization are defined and simulated. SimMechanics is used to optimize system-level performance and to create plant models for control design. The models you create support your entire development process, including hardware-in-the-loop simulations.

SimMechanics model of landing gear. Left: 3D visualization generated automatically from the model. Right: Portion of the model. Modeling Multibody Systems SimMechanics enables you to create libraries of components that can be reused in many different designs. You define bodies in terms of their mass, inertia, and connection points. To create complex shapes, you assemble sets of simple geometries, such as spheres, cylinders, and extrusions defined in MATLAB, and SimMechanics calculates the resulting mass and inertia automatically. The diagram that defines the body clearly indicates all connections...

file £dit yiew I2ispl«r Di»OLflm £imul(lton finiljrtii £cxie » file £dit yiew Eijpny Oi*otam ^imuieiron finaiirjii t^jun four barl»,*aXrank Link SimMechanics model of four-bar linkage components. Links are composed of connected solids (left) that are defined by a preselected shape (bottom) andMATLAB variables; components are connected by joints with specified state targets (right). You can import a CAD assembly into SimMechanics using SimMechanics Link. The mass and inertia of each part in the assembly are imported as rigid bodies in SimMechanics. Geometry from the CAD assembly is saved to geometry...

* Mechanics Explorers ■ Mechanics Explorer- p.. _ Uc^j File Explorer Simulation View Tools Window . * * x fet ► ■ & View contention; ZppCXYTop) * * fi&fi) ffi(*i[Bff fp)j IX 'J- Time I Piston model imported from CAD into SimMechanics. After the CAD model of the piston (top left) is saved as an XML file, and imported into SimMechanics (bottom), the visualization is generated from the STL files automatically exported from the CAD system (right). Simulating Models SimMechanics provides specialized solver technology for simulating multibody mechanical systems. You can perform different types of analyses,...

4\ Mechanics Explorers ■ Mechanics EKplorer-sm_foLir_bflr2 file- Expflorer Simulation View Tools Desktop yjfindow Help Assembly status: A Assembled with issues Jcints: A Missed High priority targets Assembled Primitive Actual Specified Priority Status Specified Units Priority SimMechanics model of a four-bar linkage. The simulation results can be reviewed in a 3D animation (top left) or on Simulink scopes (top right), while a Model Report (bottom) shows details about the assembly of your model, including initial conditions. Visualizing Models SimMechanics automatically creates a 3D visualization...

^ Mechanics Explorers - Mechanics Explorer-sm_wing_lanrfing_ge3r2 File Explorer Simulation View Tools Desktop Window Help ftctuatorBar Wall Ocrarty rho_glurr Calculate from Geometry Solid Description SimMechanics 3D animation and Mechanics Explorer tool. You can review simulation results in an automatically generated 3D animation (left), and use a tree browser to navigate and explore your model (right). Deploying Models You can deploy SimMechanics models using code generated with Simulink Coder. The generated code lets you: ■ Build standalone executables of SimMechanics models that can be integrated...

SimMechanics in Academia SimMechanics can help you teach how theory relates to system behavior. Animations produced from SimMechanics simulations illustrate a system’s motion and give students a better understanding of the laws of physics. To demonstrate how effects such as friction influence the mechanical system represented by your SimMechanics model, you can implement equations for these effects in the Simscape language. Using simulation, your students can prototype in a virtual environment, which encourages them to try out new designs and to explore the entire parameter space. Simulation...