MechanicalSystems Upgraded for Faster Modeling
with Mathematica
September 20, 2005--MechanicalSystems 2 is now available from
Wolfram Research. This faster, more robust version of the application
package for rigid body system design is compatible
with Mathematica 5.2 and significantly speeds up prototyping
and simulation tasks for complex models.
MechanicalSystems features over 50 two- and three-dimensional
geometric constraints for modeling complex mechanical
relationships. Custom algebraic constraints can also be easily defined
for modeling non-geometric or control relationships. A new
streamlined documentation system, with inline examples for most
functions, is also included and automatically integrates into the
searchable Mathematica Help Browser.
Other major enhancements include:
- Full internal support for Mathematica's new expression
compilation capabilities
- Simpler symbolic results from many 3D angular constraints
- New forward dynamics block that integrates in 3D angular space for
improved performance and accuracy
- Fully integrated generalized coordinate support in the core package
- Vector algebra support in Euler parameter space
- Enhanced 3D graphics objects with elliptical cubic sections
- New gear constraints for modeling abstract gear trains
- Capabilities to specify all 3D rotations by angle-axis, Euler
parameters, or virtual rotation vector
MechanicalSystems developer Robert Beretta will give a special
demonstration of these improvements at the 2005 Wolfram Technology
Conference, which will take place in Champaign, Illinois, from
October 6-8.
This release of MechanicalSystems is part of a key Wolfram
Partnerships Group initiative to team up with developers and bring
innovative software solutions to Mathematica
users. Mathematica application developers and others interested
in working with Wolfram Research should contact partnerships@wolfram.com
for details.
MechanicalSystems requires Mathematica 5.0 or higher and
is available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Unix, and compatible
systems.
More information is available on the MechanicalSystems
website.
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