If you're encountering integration errors in mechatronic systems late in development during hardware prototyping, you may want to spend a few valuable minutes checking out the archived mechatronics webinar at www.machinedesign.com. (Click on the Webinars link at the top of the page.) The live webcast was held Sept. 10, but you can visit the archived presentation, and still ask questions of the presenters.
Simulating mechatronic systems in one environment that combines mechanical, electrical, and control system modeling makes it easier to find performance errors early in development. In addition, current simulation technology allows integration of engineering data from different CAE tools, such as CAD and EDA, reducing translation errors. The webinar explains how simulation can help you build multidomain mechatronic system models, predict and optimize system performance, understand and manage complex system interactions, detect design inefficiencies and integration errors, and test mechatronic systems before building hardware prototypes.