Question about Imitating a robotic arm using simscape

I have imported a 3 degree robotic arm from a solidworks assembly to matlab simulink.

My intentions are to apply a force on one end and mesure the position (angle) of the arm.

I have attached an image to show clearly what i've done.

Couple of questions i stumbled upom:

1. I've been having some trouble starting the simulation while all the links are straight (i.e. 0 degree angle between them), i'd appreciate some input on that.
2. Also, when mesuring the angle at each transformation axis using the scope, i get graphs which i cannot understand, is it in degrees? and if not, how can i read it in degrees, or change the axis to be read in degrees.

Thanks for the input

Answer 1

[Steve Miller]

Hi Criss

> Starting the simulation while all the links are straight (i.e. 0 degree angle between them)

The angles of the joints at time = 0 will be the angles they were at in your CAD model. If you want to adjust them further, you can set the State Target for position at each joint.

> How can i change the axis to be read in degrees?

The default output is in radians. You can put a gain block on the Simulink signal and multiply by (180/pi), or you can go into the PS-Simulink converter block and set the units to 'deg'.

--Steve