In an effort to help engineers tackle the growing complexity
behind the design of mechatronics products, Maplesoft
has bolstered the visualization and animation capabilities of its flagship Maple
technical computing software while adding new capabilities to its
recently-released MapleSim multi-domain modeling and simulation application.
MapleSim2, which is now fully integrated with Maple at its
core, delivers 3-D animation and visualization capabilities that can easily
transform multibody models into realistic animations, improving engineers'
insight into system behavior. Maple 13, the latest release of the company's
symbolic computation engine, offers completely new 3-D plotting facilities
designed to make 3-D plots more meaningful and easier to interpret.
Both releases are designed to address the increasingly
complexity design engineers face when developing next-generation products. When
designing in the area of hybrid cars, for example, engineers are much more
reliant on sophisticated mathematical equations, and the new releases are
optimized to make modeling mathematics more accessible, interactive and visual,
according to Tom Lee Maplesoft's chief evangelist.
"Coming up with the equations can be upwards of 80 percent of the
modeling time," Lee says. "We need to make more advanced mathematical
technology more accessible to everyone because people are rusty in this stuff.
Both systems now allow for much more drag and drop and interactive, visual
representation of the physical systems. Underneath, we take care of all the
math, which allows people to be engineers, not just more accurate
mathematicians."
The new animation capabilities in MapleSim2, for instance,
will automatically generate a 3-D animation of what a machine looks like and
how it will behave. "You can push a button, and the robot you're designing
comes on screen and moves around and you can see if an end is bashing against
something or if something is disconnected," Lee explains. "That way, an
engineer doesn't have to root through the mathematics or schematics."
At the core of MapleSim2 is Maple 13, the upgraded version
of Maple's technical software. This upgrade builds on the last
release adding additional CAD connectivity capabilities, including support
for Siemens PLM Software's NX.
Maple 13 also offers new plotting facilities, including extensive annotation
tools and fly-through animations along with new solvers and point-and-click
access to control systems analysis tools.
A single-user professional license of MapleSim2 is
priced at $2,995, while Maple 13 costs $1,895.
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