SimMechanics

Introduction

SimMechanics™ extends Simscape™ with tools for modeling three-dimensional mechanical systems within the Simulink^® environment. Instead of deriving and programming equations, you can use this multibody simulation tool to build a model composed of bodies, joints, constraints, and force elements that reflects the structure of the system. An automatically generated 3-D animation lets you visualize the system dynamics. You can import models complete with mass, inertia, constraint, and 3-D geometry from several CAD systems.

Modeling a Piston 8:57
Model a piston using multibody dynamics. Bodies, joints, and 3D visualization are defined and simulated.

SimMechanics models can be converted to C code with Simulink Coder™, enabling you to test embedded controllers using hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) tests instead of hardware prototypes.

SimMechanics can be used to develop active suspensions, robotics, surgical devices, landing gear, and a variety of other systems. You can combine SimMechanics with other MathWorks physical modeling products to model complex interactions in multidomain physical systems.

SimMechanics model of a robot arm. The colored blocks in the SimMechanics model (bottom) correspond to the colored parts in the 3-D visualization (top). 

Key Features

• Modeling environment for building 3-D rigid-body mechanical systems
• Simulation modes for analyzing motion and calculating forces
• Visualization and animation of mechanical system dynamics with 3-D body geometry
• SimMechanics Link utility, providing an interface to Pro/ENGINEER^® and SolidWorks^® CAD platforms and an API for linking to other CAD platforms
• Ability to convert models to C code (with Real-Time Workshop)
• Integration in Simulink, enabling development of high- fidelity, nonlinear plant models and control systems in a single environment