MotionView can interface with Mechanical Simulation Corporation’s Carsim product in the following ways:

 

Plotting Carsim .csv Files

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The MotionView plot window functions are available to the Carsim user.  In the Build Plots panel, if you point to the .csv file that is created from the Carsim .bin file, all signals become available to plot.  You can then use the signal processing, macro, and reporting capabilities of the plot window.  See the Plot Window on-line help for more information.

 

Preparing Suspension .par Files

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MotionView allows you to construct suspensions from the Vehicle Dynamics and Suspension MDL libraries that are included with the product.  For half-car models, you can select the Kinematics and Compliance task and run the simulation with MotionSolve or ADAMS.  You can then load the automated reports to visualize the Kinematics and Compliance plots and use the automated MotionView report to create a .par file that can be read into Carsim.

 

Solving the Suspension Kinematics and Compliance Task

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MDL suspension models with the kinematics and compliance analysis can be solved using either MotionSolve or ADAMS.

 

MotionSolve

MotionSolve is MotionView's built-in motion solver.  It provides solutions for forces, displacements, velocities, and accelerations directly from the MDL models in MotionView.  You can animate the results in MotionView using the .mdl/.mrf files.  You can plot the results using the .abf file.

 

To obtain a solution to the Kinematics and Compliance task using MotionSolve:

MotionSolve solves the kinematics and compliance task and generates .mrf and .abf result files.

 

ADAMS

To simulate the system using ADAMS, you must register a launch script that MotionView uses when you click Run on the Run panel.  See *RegisterSolverScript() in the on-line help, or contact mvsupport@altair.com for details about the initial setup of this launch script.  When complete, you need to only select ADAMS from the Solvers menu and follow a similar Run procedure as described above for MotionSolve.  The ADAMS simulation produces a .gra file for animation and .req file for plotting.

 

Creating Plots, Animation, and Carsim .par file

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MotionView contains a prescribed report for many of the common plots, the animation of the kinematics and compliance simulation, and the .par file generation. Reports define the pages and windows of the session and signals to be plotted, but allow the actual result filename to be parametric, therefore allowing it to be applied to different iterations.

 

View Reports

After completing a simulation, go to the Analysis menu and select View Reports.  This provides a list of recently run simulations, with the most recent simulation at the top of the list.

To obtain the automated report for plots and animation:

 This appends many pages to the current session specific to the kinematics and compliance run.  You can use Templex from within the plot window to design and calculate metrics from these plots.  See the Templex on-line help for more information.

 

To obtain a .par file:

 For front suspensions (always independent), you will see AdamsIndyFront.par or MsolveIndyFront.par, depending on the solver used in the analysis.  Rear .par file export depends on whether the suspension is independent, twistbeam, or solid axle.

 

Loading .par files into Carsim

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Carsim version 6.0 and greater allows you to load in a .par file when you are in the vehicle editing level of the Carsim interface.  See the Carsim on-line help for additional information about loading .par files.

 

How do I…

Construct a suspension model

Create an analysis task

 

See also

Interfacing with Solvers