Contents

Index

• Getting Started

• Introducing SimMechanics Software

• Product Overview

Product Definition

Mechanical Simulation and Physical Modeling

• Related Products

Required Products

Other Related Products

• Running a Demo Model

What the Demo Represents

Viewing a Mechanical Drawing of the Conveyor

What the Demo Illustrates

Opening the Model

Running the Model

Modifying the Model

Visualizing and Animating the Model

• What Can You Do with SimMechanics Software?

About SimMechanics Software

Modeling Mechanical Systems

Bodies, Coordinate Systems, Joints, and Constraints

Sensors, Actuators, Friction, and Force Elements

Simulating and Analyzing Mechanical Motion

Visualizing and Animating Models

For More Information

• Learning More

Using the MATLAB Help System for Documentation and Demos

Finding Special SimMechanics Help

• Modeling, Simulating, and Visualizing Simple Machines

• Introducing the SimMechanics Block Libraries

About the SimMechanics Block Library

Accessing the Libraries

Using the Libraries

• Essential Steps to Building and Running a Mechanical Model

About Machine Modeling and Simulation

Essential Steps to Build a Model

Essential Steps to Configure and Run a Model

• Creating a Simple Mechanical Model

Modeling the Simple Pendulum

Opening the SimMechanics Block Library

The World Coordinate System and Gravity

Configuring the Ground Block

Configuring the Body Block

Configuring the Joint Block

Adding a Sensor and Starting the Simulation

• Visualizing a Simple Mechanical Model

Visualizing and Animating the Simple Pendulum

Starting Visualization

Selecting a Body Geometry

Displaying the Pendulum

Modeling and Visualizing More Complex Machines

• Creating a Closed-Loop Mechanical Model

Modeling the Four Bar Mechanism

Viewing a Mechanical Drawing of the Four Bar Mechanism

Counting the Degrees of Freedom

Configuring the Mechanical Environment

Setting Up the Block Diagram

Configuring the Ground and Joint Blocks

Configuring the Body Blocks

Sensing Motion and Running the Model

For More About the Four Bar Mechanism

• Representing Motion

• Kinematics and the Machine's State of Motion

About Kinematics

Degrees of Freedom

The State of Motion

Home, Initial, and Assembled Configurations

For More Information

• Body Motion in SimMechanics Representations

About Body Motion

Machine Geometry and Motion

Reference Frames and Coordinate Systems

Relating Coordinate Systems in Relative Motion

Observing Body Motion in Different Coordinate Systems

Representing Body Translations and Rotations

• Body Orientation in SimMechanics Representations

About Body Orientation Representations

Axis-Angle Representation

Quaternion Representation

Rotation Matrix Representation

Euler Angle Representation

Converting Rotation Representations

Converting the Angular Velocity

• Orienting a Body and Its Coordinate Systems

About the Body Orientation Examples

Setting Up the Test Body

Rotating the Body and Its CG CS Relative to World

Rotating the Body Relative to Its Center of Gravity

Creating and Rotating Body Coordinate Systems

• Release Notes

Learn more about SimMechanics

Getting Started

Beginning users with limited Simulink^® and/or mechanical simulation experience will especially benefit by starting with the first three chapters.

Introducing SimMechanics Software	Overview of features, capabilities, and functions, and a demo model
Modeling, Simulating, and Visualizing Simple Machines	Overview of the block library, essential model building steps, and building simple models
Representing Motion	How to represent translational and rotational motion in SimMechanics software

Simple Four Bar Machine Represented by SimMechanics Model and Visualization

Introducing SimMechanics Software

Introducing SimMechanics Software

Related Products & Applications

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