SolidWorks, NI Join to Offer Prototyping for Mechatronics
 AUSTIN,
TX and CONCORD,
MA, Aug 12, 2009 - National Instruments (Nasdaq: NATI), a leader in control
design and embedded systems, and Dassault Systems SolidWorks Corp., a leader
in mechanical design software, today announced their collaboration on a
pioneer mechatronics tool that helps mechanical and control engineers work
together to lower the cost and risk of motion system design. Seamlessly
connecting NI LabVIEW graphical system design software and SolidWorks 3D CAD
software, the new virtual prototyping solution helps engineers and
scientists design, optimize, validate and visualize the real-world
performance of machines and motion systems before incurring the costs of
physical prototypes. Because LabVIEW is used for controlling the virtual
prototype, engineers and scientists can deploy their graphical software to
physical NI hardware with little to no change to the code.
 “The increasing complexity of machine designs demands better
collaboration between different engineering disciplines including
mechanical, electrical and control,” said Jeff Ray, CEO of DS SolidWorks.
“SolidWorks and National Instruments have developed a prototyping solution
that dramatically shortens the gap between idea and reality.”
Mechatronics-oriented design tools improve machine development by
simulating the interaction between mechanical and electrical subsystems
throughout the design process. Historically, teams of engineers from
different disciplines worked in silos and in sequential development. Design
decisions were made independently, resulting in longer development times and
higher costs. Now, to streamline development in a mechatronics approach, the
teams work in parallel and collaborate on design, prototyping and
deployment. The ability to create virtual prototypes is a critical aspect of
the mechatronics approach because it helps engineers and scientists explore
machines before they are built.
“We live in a multi-domain world, so designers should have access to
best-of-class tools in each domain,” said Dr. James Truchard, president, CEO
and cofounder of National Instruments. “By combining two of the most
powerful design tools, LabVIEW and SolidWorks, we are giving engineers and
scientists a new way to collaborate more effectively and innovate more
quickly.”
The seamless integration of the LabVIEW 2009 NI SoftMotion Module and
SolidWorks software delivers a design environment that is ideal for virtual
prototyping. Existing SolidWorks CAD models can be easily connected to
LabVIEW, which automatically links the motor actuators and position sensors
defined in the model. Using the high-level functions provided by the NI
SoftMotion for SolidWorks, engineers and scientists can develop
sophisticated motion control applications that include logic based on sensor
feedback. Design teams, customers and sales engineers then can use the
virtual prototype to visualize realistic machine operations and analyze
cycle time performance. By using LabVIEW and SolidWorks, the mechanical
dynamics of a machine, including mass and friction effects, as well as motor
and mechanical actuator torque requirements, can be simulated before parts
are specified.
"The SolidWorks and LabVIEW connection gives our R&D teams the ability to
develop a virtual prototype in advance of a physical build," said Dr. John
White, chief engineer at NCR Corporation. "LabVIEW controls the motion
trajectories while SolidWorks can be used to calculate the driving forces,
power requirements and stresses. Together, these two development tools
provide our engineers with the data needed for full design analysis and
optimization."
The new virtual prototyping solution also makes it easy to deploy motion
applications, validated using the SolidWorks 3D CAD environment, to NI
embedded control platforms such as the NI CompactRIO programmable automation
controller (PAC). Because the application was developed in LabVIEW, the same
code used to create the virtual prototype can be deployed to physical NI
hardware with little to no programming changes. Additionally, engineers and
scientists can use the new NI 951x C Series drive interfaces to achieve
direct connectivity to hundreds of stepper and servo drives and motors from
NI and third-party vendors.
Readers can visit
www.ni.com/digitalprototyping to learn more about the tools available
for virtual prototyping.
About National Instruments
National Instruments (www.ni.com) is
transforming the way engineers and scientists design, prototype and deploy
systems for measurement, automation and embedded applications. NI empowers
customers with off-the-shelf software such as NI LabVIEW and modular
cost-effective hardware, and sells to a broad base of more than 30,000
different companies worldwide, with no one customer representing more than 3
percent of revenue and no one industry representing more than 15 percent of
revenue. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has more than 5,000 employees
and direct operations in more than 40 countries. For the past 10 years,
FORTUNE magazine has named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in
America.
For more information, visit
www.ni.com/nati or call (512) 683-5090 or email at
nati@ni.com
About Dassault Systems SolidWorks Corp.
Dassault Systems SolidWorks Corp., a Dassault Systems S.A. subsidiary, is
a world leader in 3D solutions. The company develops and markets software
for design, analysis, product data management, and documentation. It is the
leading supplier of 3D CAD technology, giving teams intuitive,
high-performing software that helps them design better products.
For more information, visit
www.solidworks.com or call 1-800-693-9000 (outside of North America,
call +1-978-371-5000).
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See Also
SolidWorks website
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Source: Material used in press releases is often supplied by external
sources and used as is.
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