- January 27, 2010
January 27, 1010 – Kollmorgen introduces MechaWare 4.0 mechatronic “toolkit” that empowers software and design engineers to work together to design, test and modify custom motion algorithms in a fraction of the time and cost of conventional methods. This upgraded MechaWare version leverages MATLAB/Simulink from The Mathworks to identically model and seamlessly integrate mechanical systems and control software design, resulting in faster design cycles, superior motion system performance with reduced power consumption, and faster time to market at a fraction of the cost of conventional methods – potentially saving OEMs thousands of dollars and months of development time.Motion system vibration can create significant problems by limiting throughput, creating noise and reducing component life. It further impacts machine quality and reliability, consuming excessive energy and forcing expensive mechanical structures to accommodate. With MechaWare 4.0, design engineers can rapidly design and implement unique control algorithms and generate embedded motion routines to engineer an exact-fit control solution, saving time, material cost and overall system cost-of-ownership. Additionally, OEMs can test and validate their design using Matlab/Simulink’s powerful simulation engine, and use integrated analysis tools such as Kollmorgen’s Bode Tool to accurately characterize system performance and quickly tune the motors.With over 80 MechaWare blocks optimized for motion control, and all of those blocks matched to controller firmware performance to ensure that control model behavior is nothing less than identical to the actual hardware response, MechaWare 4.0 promises significantly faster and more precise designs, increased throughput and reduced settling time to maximize mechanical system efficiency. And whether engineers are looking to implement and test a simple PID algorithm, or build a multi-axis controls model using pre-filters, observers and biquad filters, MechaWare 4.0 is also scalable to meet specific design needs. The MechaWare 4.0 graphical interface allows controls engineers to reduce development cycles and simplify machine design. They are also able to embed inverse kinematic calculations in firmware for customized, real-time performance, define coordinate transformations to improve system accuracy based on registration mark or vision system input, and create motion and I/O routines in firmware for reduced latency and improved safety.Specific advantages of MechaWare 4.0 include: