MechDesigner Reference & User Interface

Feedback-Area

The Feedback-Area is below the graphics-area.

It has five main areas.

Extended Hints AND Element Properties

Extended Hints:

When you move your mouse over a command in a toolbar, or many of the Function-Blocks in the graphics-area, a tool-tip shows in the Extended Hints box.

You do not need to enable Hints and Tool-Tips to see the Extended Hints.

See Application Settings

Element-Properties:

When you move your mouse above an element in the graphics-area, it shows the element's kinematic-properties and/or kinetostatic-properties.

Note:

To see all of the Extended Hint and/or Element-Properties, you may need to drag the separator-bars upwards and/or to the right a short distance.

Messages

The most recent message is at the top of the list.

Message information:

Count :	The message number since you last cleared the Message-Area of messages.
Topic :	Importance Level: – Information; – Warning; – Error - save your work now!
Message :	The message you should read!
Time :	When the message was displayed.

To clear the Messages:

1.Right-Click, with your mouse-pointer in the Messages area

2.Click Clear Messages in the shortcut menu

Message sounds:

If you enable sounds in Application Options | Accessibility tab, you hear a honk with each new message.

Master-Machine-Angle (MMA) ; Revs ; Machine-Angle-Indicator

The Master-Machine-Angle (MMA) is the virtual axis, and the virtual input to all kinematic-chains in the model. You can imagine it as a drive shaft that rotates one time per machine cycle.

Master-Machine-Angle Scale	Moving arrowhead with Range 0 – 360, equal to one machine-cycle see Run menu > Cycle
Revs	Read-only - Number of machine-cycles since model reset to zero - see Run menu > Home
Machine-Angle-Indicator	Read-write - the exact machine-angle

Edit Exactly

Edit the Machine-Angle Indicator

Move to a Machine Angle	Enter a Machine-Angle between 0 and 360 in the Machine-Angle Indicator.
Inch	Click the Spin-Box one time to increase or decrease the Machine Angle by the Spin-Increment. Edit the Spin-Increment (by factors of 10) to change the size of the step.
Jog	Press and Hold the Spin-Box to continuously increase or decrease the Master-Machine-Angle.

Edit Approximately :

Drag in the Master Machine-Angle Scale in the MMA

With your mouse-pointer INSIDE the Master-Machine-Angle area: press the mouse-button-down and move you mouse to the left or right,

The orange triangle (▲) below the MMA and the MMA value moves with your mouse-pointer.

Vector Scale buttons

Use the Velocity, Acceleration, Force, and Torque scale buttons to increase or decrease the length of vectors in the graphics-area.

Velocity (V) and Acceleration (A) Vector buttons

Click the up /down arrow-buttons next to:

•V to increase or decrease the length of Velocity vectors

•A to increase or decrease the length of Acceleration vectors

See Point Properties dialog to display the Velocity Vector and Acceleration Vector of a moving Point

Force (F) and Torque () Vector buttons

Click the up /down arrow-buttons next to:

•F to increase or decrease the length of Force vectors

• to increase or decrease the length of Torque vectors

See Force-Vectors: Calculate and Force-Vectors: Display to display Force and Torque-Vectors at joints.

See Configure Power Source to make sure the Power flows through the model correctly.

Animation-Speed Slider

Use the Animation Speed Slider to speed-up or slow-down the Animation Speed of the model.

Mouse-button-down and move you mouse to the left or right, with your mouse-pointer INSIDE the Animation-Speed Slider to change the animation speed.

The Animation-Speed does not change the kinematic or force analysis, or motion synchronization between kinematic-chains.

To edit the simulation speed or machine-speed: see Edit menu > Machine-Settings > Cycling Parameters.