Carl During

Designing mechatronic systems, a model-based perspective, an attempt to achieve SysML-Matlab/Simulink model integration

Higher demands on efficiency, cost and functionality have contributed a great deal towards the advent of Mechatronic systems where mechanics, electronics and computer software integrate together to provide the required functionality. This integration has its effects in the design process as well, and a good design requires careful integration of methods and tools to satisfy the overlapping objectives. The set of requirements a designer needs to satisfy for a good design are in all three domains, hence various design and modelling tools are used by engineers to satisfy these multi-domain requirements. With the advent of systems modelling languages for specifying the complete system in one system model, there is an increased urge to link the system modelling tools to the domain specific tools such as Matlab/Simulink. In this paper we present an attempt to achieve an integrated design environment by building mapping between SysML and Matlab/Simulink models. The complexities that can be solved using SysML and the ones which necessitate a communication between SysML and other tools are discussed. Models of an industrial pattern generator are presented to explain the practical influence of this integration approach. The resulting integrated model is more comprehensive for the designer when investigating various design alternatives. This is important for companies considering they have to consistently embed innovation and sustainability in their products.

Dependency Modeling and Model Management in Mechatronic Design

Mechatronic design is traditionally supported through domain-specific design activities throughout the product development process. The partitioning into domain-specific problems leads to a situati ...

Challenges in Designing Mechatronic Systems

Development of mechatronic products is traditionally carried out by several design experts from different design domains. Performing development of mechatronic products is thus greatly challenging. ...

Mechatronic Design : Still A Considerable Challenge

Development of mechatronic products is traditionally carried out by several design experts from different design domains. Performing development of mechatronic products is thus greatly challenging. ...

A mechatronic design infrastructure integrating heterogeneous models

Mechatronic system design is contemplated extensively through model-based approaches. To reflect the multi-domain integration inside a mechatronic system during the design process, integration approaches targeting heterogeneous models are essential. An infrastructure supporting the design of multi-domain systems is presented. The dependencies between the domain-specific models are managed by utilizing SysML as a common system modeling language between those models. A model integration framework supports model transformations between the system-model and the domain-specific models by utilizing Eclipse Modeling Framework. Structural and parameter type dependencies between different domain-models are handled to provide consistency between different views. This provides an ability to traverse between different views of the system, as well as maintaining consistency between those views. A case study on a robot system is presented to explain the integration of mechanical design model in Solid Edge, and dynamic analysis model in Simulink/SimMechanics through a SysML system model, all under the proposed design infrastructure. The approach is scalable towards other modeling formalisms by building new relations through the SysML model. This will support: co-evolution of domain-specific models, a better design of multi-domain systems, reduction in modeling in-consistencies, and a reduction in design time.

Managing dependencies in mechatronic design: a case study on dependency management between mechanical design and system design

In this paper, we have investigated the role of dependencies in the design process of mechatronic products. Since explicit modeling of dependencies is largely considered unnecessary today, current languages do not support dependency modeling due to lack of sufficiently expressive language constructs. However, this paper argues that modeling dependencies is important in managing the overall design process. The paper highlights dependencies between two important viewpoints: system design and mechanical design. We have looked closely at how mechanical design (supported by CAD tools) establishes a backbone for the overall design concept. Mechanical design cannot be isolated from other design activities, and the mismanagement of dependencies there leads to problems in other domains too. To illustrate the process, the paper presents an example of modeling dependencies between system hierarchy in OMG SysML™ and the CAD assembly in Solid Edge for a mechatronic design example. The paper presents two different approaches to capturing dependencies—using a general purpose modeling language such as SysML and using a domain specific modeling language (DSML). We argue for using a DSML instead of a general purpose language and provide a DSML called the dependency modeling language (DML). An example DML model for a two degree of freedom robot use case is discussed. The paper also illustrates the complete process of capturing dependencies in a general purpose modeling language like SysML, which served as a good exercise on how to fetch data from a CAD tool and how to represent dependencies inside a significantly different modeling language. Lessons learned from doing this were applied to the construction of DML. Our aim for the future is to reduce the human effort required to build dependency models. Machine learning techniques and automated model transformations are valuable techniques to support this cause.