In the dynamic landscape of modern engineering, where innovation thrives on the seamless fusion of various disciplines, one concept stands out as a testament to progress: Mechatronic Concept Design (MCD). At its core, MCD represents the convergence of mechanical, electrical, and control engineering, reshaping the way we envision and create products. It supports the early machine design phase that provides the basic machine concept, including the mechanical, electrical, fluid, and automation aspects. It is a solution that transforms the machine creation process into an efficient mechatronics design approach. And when it comes to harnessing the full potential of MCD, Siemens NX emerges as a vanguard of this transformative approach.

In the world of MCD with Siemens NX, complexity isn’t a challenge—it’s an opportunity. Engineers can anticipate potential issues, fine-tune intricate details, and craft solutions that not only work flawlessly but exceed expectations.

Capabilities of MCD

Mechatronics Concept Designer provides a collaborative development environment that allows the following roles to progress concurrently:

• Systems engineers can manage the requirements and facilitate cross disciplinary communication.
• Mechanical engineers can create the design based on 3D shapes and kinematics.
• Electrical engineers can select and position sensors and actuators.
• Automation programmers can design the basic logical behavior of the machine beginning with time-based behavior and then developing it into event-based control.

Application

Let’s examine a sliding object application while providing a general overview of some of MCD’s many features.

Figure 1: MCD Geometry

1. Mechatronics Concept Design Application

You have to first expand the More section in the Ribbon bar’s Application section before you can enter the Mechatronics Concept Design.

Figure 2: Mechatronics Concept Design Application tab

Once you are in the MCD Environment, you see the Play button. Even if you are in the Physics environment where gravity is given to the model, nothing seems to happen when you press play. This is because no rigid bodies, the model’s moving components, have been established.

Figure 3: Simulation tab

2. Define Rigid and Collision Bodies.

So, for the two boxes that will land on the Slide and then the Conveyor, we choose the Rigid Body command.

After that, we specify the bodies that will collide using the Collision Body command.

An important point to note is that it is not enough to define only the stationary object to be touched, one must also define the Rigid Body (e.g., Box A) as a Collision Body in order to activate the contact.

Figure 4: Rigid and Collision Bodies

The Collision Shape option in the Collision Body tool enables you to alter the shape and follow more closely to the defined object, adding further flexibility to the simulation.

3. Inspect the model.

Finally, you can test your model by running the simulation once more and seeing if it acts as you would anticipate. You can also get a better look at just the moving parts by choosing the Rigid Body Color, which makes only the Rigid Bodies colorful.

Figure 5: Rigid Body Color Command

In the Mechatronics Concept Design Preferences, one can also change the direction and value of Gravity.

Don’t miss the video below for a thorough demonstration of all the processes outlined above.

At FEAC, we trust that this blog post has been informative and beneficial to prepare top-notch Digital Twins. Should you have any inquiries and questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at support@feacomp.com.

Author:

E Elisavet Oursoula Kavoura CAD Designer at FEAC Engineering Mechanical Engineer M.Sc e-mail: e.kavoura@feacomp.com LinkedIn Profile: Eliza Kavoura