An integrated approach for simulation of mechatronic systems applied to a hexapod robot

Mechatronics is the integration of mechanism, electronics and computer control to produce a functional system. The design process involves application of many engineering areas and various approaches are possible. Computer programs are available in different engineering areas. Engineers define systems and inputs, and user-friendly programs establish mathematical models, solve them and give simulation outputs. In this study, SolidWorks is used for solid modeling and assembly, CosmosMotion is used for rigid body dynamics, Cosmos Works is used for finite element vibration and strength analyses, and Adlink module is used for actuator control. The integration of the design process is achieved with a main program developed in Visual Basic, which uses the application programming interface (API) capabilities. The procedure is applied to a hexapod robot. The robot has been produced to develop and test the procedure. CosmosMotion results are verified by the analytical results obtained from the dynamic equations of the hexapod. Besides known kinematic workspace definition of robots, kinetic and rigidity workspace concepts are introduced. Mechatronic systems can be designed and evaluated easily and effectively by using the design process developed in this work. (C) 2011 IMACS. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.