MapleSim and related toolboxes help meet complex physical modeling challenges
Waterloo, 29 October 2009: Today, Maplesoft™, the leading provider of high-performance software tools for engineering, science, and mathematics, announced several new products that will help educators, researchers, and students better understand and manage the complexity of engineering modeling and simulation problems. MapleSim™, the most advanced solution for physical modeling, combined with a collection of new toolboxes, enables fast model development, advanced analysis, and the creation of complex multi-domain models that lie at the core of modern engineering.
The new Maplesoft solution suite includes the following new products:
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MapleSim 3 –MapleSim, Maplesoft’s core physical modeling product, has a rich modeling platform which has been greatly enhanced in this release. Modeling capabilities have been extended with new component libraries for hydraulics and electrical machines. New refined solvers that handle even greater model complexity have also been added. An extensive collection of prebuilt models greatly accelerates the introduction of MapleSim in any academic setting.
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| New hydraulics components, including valves and cylinders, are used to create a scissor lift in MapleSim 3. |
In the classroom, MapleSim provides an environment where instructors can quickly demonstrate the connection between concepts and their underlying mathematical theory and physical behavior. For research applications, MapleSim produces highly optimized equation-based models to provide the best possible real-time performance for hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) applications.
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| The MapleSim Control Design Toolbox includes easy-to-use templates for interactive controller development and analysis. |
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MapleSim Control Design Toolbox –The MapleSim Control Design Toolbox provides a solid set of essential control design tools that extend MapleSim’s exceptional plant modeling capabilities to support control design. This toolbox takes advantage of the symbolic approach for designing, analyzing, and testing control systems, which results in greater flexibility and accuracy. In addition, developing plants and controllers together in the MapleSim environment accelerates the development process. With this toolbox, MapleSim can be used to teach the fundamentals of control design in a way that provides deeper insight and understanding.
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MapleSim LabVIEW Connector –This toolbox integrates MapleSim's rich modeling environment into the popular LabVIEW® real-time platform from National Instruments (NI). Engineers using LabVIEW can quickly develop and optimize complex engineering system models in the intuitive visual modeling environment of MapleSim. This new toolbox joins the MapleSim Connector (formerly known as the MapleSim Connectivity Toolbox), which provides enhanced connectivity with Simulink® and Real-Time Workshop®. When combined, these products ensure that MapleSim now connects to all popular real-time platforms typically found in university labs.
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| The MapleSim LabVIEW Connector lets you export MapleSim models as LabVIEW user-code blocks, so you can include them in your LabVIEW VIs. This example shows a three degrees-of-freedom helicopter, from model development to hardware-in-the-loop testing. |
“Physical modeling is certainly driving the designs of tomorrow,” said Jim Cooper, President and CEO, Maplesoft. “These new products will provide researchers and students with critical tools necessary to understand and tackle complex modern engineering challenges. They will empower the academic engineering community to engage in cutting edge research and prepare students for the challenges ahead.”
Dr. Stephen Lynch, Professor at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK and a leader in the use of mathematical software in teaching and learning, features MapleSim in the second edition of his best-selling book, Dynamical Systems and Applications using Maple. The book introduces readers to the theory of dynamical systems through theoretical and practical examples. Discussing his experience with MapleSim, Dr. Lynch explains, “MapleSim is fantastic. With the support of powerful tools like MapleSim, there’s no limit to how far students can reach.”
As part of its improved engineering solution offering, Maplesoft also announced a significant expansion of its Application Engineering Division. This group has been expanded to assist customers with modeling issues in a timely manner and to rapidly deploy MapleSim in academic and research organizations. This group is global in scope, integrating services from Maplesoft’s solution partners from around the world.
Availability and Pricing
Single-user academic licenses of MapleSim 3 are available for US $995, and MapleSim LabVIEW Connector for US $395. For its initial release, the MapleSim Control Design Toolbox will be included with MapleSim 3 at no extra charge. Volume, upgrade, and student discounts apply. These products are available directly from the Maplesoft Web Store or by contacting Maplesoft Sales at 1-800-267-6583. Outside of the US and Canada, the products are available from a local Maplesoft reseller.
About Maplesoft
Maplesoft has over 20 years of experience developing products for technical education and research, offering a solution that applies to every aspect of academic life. Its product suite reflects the philosophy that given great tools, people can do great things.
Maplesoft’s core technology is the world’s most advanced symbolic computation engine, which is the foundation for all of its products, including Maple™, the general-purpose mathematical problem-solving and technical documentation environment; MapleSim™, the high-performance, multi-domain modeling and simulation tool for physical systems; and Maple T.A.™, a web-based system for creating and assessing online tests and assignments.
Maplesoft also launched a fundamental shift in technical education through its Clickable Math™ and Clickable Engineering™ initiatives. The idea behind this shift was to create technology that will allow students and teachers to focus on the concepts, not the tool. These initiatives deliver powerful mathematics through visual, interactive point-and-click methods in Maple, while the intuitive physical modeling environment of MapleSim helps teachers to quickly demonstrate the connection between modeling concepts and the underlying mathematical theory.
Over 90% of advanced research institutions and universities worldwide, including MIT, Stanford, Oxford, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the U.S. Department of Energy, have adopted Maplesoft solutions to enhance their education and research activities. In industry Maplesoft’s customers include Ford, Toyota, NASA, Canadian Space Agency, Motorola, and DreamWorks, covering sectors such as automotive, aerospace, electronics, defense, consumer products, and entertainment.
Visit www.maplesoft.com to learn more.
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