Right the First Time

This paper discusses development of new tools that can help mechanical engineers avoid common pitfalls in designing complex mechatronic motion control systems. To help facilitate a more integrated design process for electromechanical systems, software developers are partnering with electrical and control design companies to add motion simulation capabilities to computer-aided design (CAD) environments to create a more unified mechatronics workflow. Integrating motion simulation with CAD simplifies design because the simulation uses information that already exists in the CAD model, such as assembly mates, couplings, and material mass properties. Simulations also simplify evaluating engineering trade-offs between different conceptual designs. The paper also highlights that several web-based motor-sizing tools have been designed to help sort through the thousands of choices, and some include motor data from multiple vendors. Using realistic multiaxis motion profiles to drive simulation can provide more accurate torque and velocity requirements, which depend on the acceleration characteristics of your motion profiles and the mass, friction, and gear ratio properties of the transmission.