New LinkageDesigner Application for Mechanical Design with
Mathematica
October 18, 2005--Wolfram Research is pleased to announce the availability
of LinkageDesigner,
a new application package for virtual prototyping of linkages with Mathematica.
LinkageDesigner provides an environment for modeling simple or
complex mechanisms with minimal effort. Its complete integration with the
Mathematica technical computing system allows engineers to perform
more sophisticated and extensive analyses than are possible with other
mechanism prototyping software.
LinkageDesigner was developed for parametrized mechanism modeling,
the starting point for solving many design problems such as synthesis,
path-planning, and mechanism corrections. It enables users to analyze,
synthesize, and simulate linkages with serial chain, tree, and graph
structures. Mathematica's symbolic calculation capabilities open
the door to time-saving algebraic optimization and problem-solving methods
for computer-aided mechanism design and CAD-CAM-CNC integration.
Features of LinkageDesigner include:
- Automatic generation of nonredundant loop-closing equations for single
and multiple loops
- Detection of non-feasible and lock-up mechanisms while defining the
model
- Parametrized linkage definitions for identical treatment of 2D and 3D
mechanisms
- New flexible and user-extensible LinkageData data type
for storage of all information associated with a mechanism
- Easy copying of LinkageData objects between mechanisms
- Calculation of translational velocity, angular velocity, and
higher-order derivatives of any links in the linkage in closed form
- Visualization and animation of linkages in Mathematica
notebooks
- Export to Dynamic
Visualizer, LiveGraphics3D, or VRML97
LinkageDesigner comes with full electronic documentation in both
PDF and Mathematica Help Browser formats. A Quick Tour provides an
overview of the package's features to help new users get started quickly
and easily, while detailed explanations provide a helpful reference to
topics covered in a standard textbook on multibody kinematics.
Developed and supported by Dr. Gábor Erdős, a senior research
associate in the Computer and Automation Research Institute of the
Hungarian Academy of Science, LinkageDesigner is available for
Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux platforms, and is designed for use with
Mathematica 5.0 or higher.
More information is available on the LinkageDesigner
website.
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