Siemens PLM Mechatronics Software Derived From Video Games
September 21, 2010 by admin
Filed under Simulation, Technology
Siemens PLM Software announced a new integrated machine design solution aimed at creating value for companies that develop and market machine tools and production machines. Mechatronics Concept Designer™ represents a paradigm shift for the industry with a new systems engineering approach to machine design that captures “voice of the user ” input, manages early requirements and facilitates the simultaneous definition and simulation of the complex mechanical, electrical and automation software found in today’s increasingly complex machine tools. With an easy-to-use, interactive simulation capability based on groundbreaking “gaming” technology, Mechatronics Concept Designer can help significantly reduce development time and improve product quality for the global machine design industry.
Siemens PLM Software’s Mechatronics Concept Designer solution enables entire development teams to collaborate more effectively from the beginning to the end of the machine design process, thereby allowing them to catch and easily correct issues early, before they become costly manufacturing or customer related problems.
An Integrated End-to-End Systems Engineering Approach
The development process in the machine tool industry requires experts from several different disciplines, including mechanical, electrical, and software design, to develop a complex machine to the specific requirements of each individual customer. Traditional software tools don’t take requirements into account, and the lack of a “common language” has made it difficult for these disciplines to integrate with each other until the end of the design process when changes are more costly, both in time and money. This fragmented set of design applications combined with the complexity of the machines, has made it virtually impossible to simulate and evaluate various design concepts to support rapid and effective product development decision making.
Siemens PLM Software’s Mechatronics Concept Designer enables mechanical, electrical, and software/automation disciplines to work in parallel. It includes all the powerful mechanical design features of NX while enabling the user to develop a list of sensors and actuators which can be easily selected and positioned, laying the foundation for the electrical engineers to create the layout plan. And more efficient software development is supported through the ability to make the machine’s sequence of operations available in a standard format common in the machinery industry.
Working in conjunction with Teamcenter, the world’s most widely used PLM system, Mechatronics Concept Designer delivers an end-to-end machine design solution with an integrated systems engineering approach. At the beginning of the development cycle, designers can use the Teamcenter requirements management and systems engineering capabilities to build a functional model that ensures customer requirements are incorporated into the design.
Video Game Technology Enables Groundbreaking Simulation
Mechatronics Concept Designer also includes a state-of-the-art modeling and simulation capability based on NVIDIA® PhysX® technology. This physics engine, developed with the PhysX SDK from NVIDIA, is similar to the software technology used in many of today’s modern video games. This groundbreaking approach to simulation makes it easy to quickly create and interactively validate alternative design concepts. In addition, the user is able to interact with the digital machine model while the simulation is running, providing the ability to test the effects of different inputs in real time. The ability to model real-world physical behavior in the virtual world, based on simplified mathematical models, enables early concept verification that helps detect and correct errors when they are least expensive to resolve.
Siemens PLM Software at IMTS
Mechatronics Concept Designer is being demonstrated in booth number E-4040 at IMTS. Attendees at IMTS also have the opportunity to observe several other technology solutions from Siemens designed to maximize manufacturing productivity including the Tecnomatix Virtual Machine solution mentioned above.
Motion Control System Includes Solid-State, Embedded PC
August 27, 2010 by admin
Filed under Featured Mechatronic Articles, Motion Control, Technology
Siemens announced that an embedded PC is now available for its Simotion® P320-3 motion control applications. Providing maintenance-free controls, the Simotion P320-3 brings the power and simplicity of a PC to motion control.
The embedded PC, which features a DDR3 memory and an Intel Core2 processor, is free of wear from moving parts, such as hard disks and fans. This compact motion control system provides maximum flexibility and accommodates centralized or decentralized machine concepts for PC-based applications or for applications that require a compact size.
It is designed for many different motion control applications with its multiple onboard interfaces. They support communication over Profinet, the open industrial Ethernet standard, as well as Ethernet interfaces that run at 10 / 100 / 1000 megabit speeds. Four USB interfaces make it simple to connect a keyboard, USB stick, printer or other devices. A DVI port rounds out the links so users can attach a display or monitor. The Simotion P320-3 can also be used in a “headless” configuration without a display, monitor or front panel.
LEDs on the front indicate the operating states, making self-diagnosis easy. The integrated power supply bridges temporary power failures. In the buffered SRAM memory, the process data is saved securely even in the event of a sudden voltage drop. Monitoring functions for the batteries, temperature and program execution are also included. The Windows Embedded Standard 2009 operating system, which increases the reliability of the system, is pre-installed. Additionally, the Simotion runtime system comes installed on the Simotion P320-3.
