CAD Environment with Electrical and Electronic Features
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current design environments for mechanical and electronic systems are segregated, leading to inefficiencies as mechanical and electronic components become increasingly interdependent, with existing tools failing to adequately address the integration of mechanical and electronic design and simulation.
Innovation Solution
An electrical and electronic feature toolbox is integrated into CAD environments, enabling the addition of electrical and electronic elements, simulation of system operations, and programming of embedded systems, allowing for unified mechanical and electronic simulation through a transducer library, routine library, and code generation engine.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If separate CAD and graphical programming environments are used for mechanical and electronic systems, then each environment can be optimized for its specific domain, but the design process becomes inefficient and time-consuming due to lack of integration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges separate CAD and graphical programming environments into a single integrated platform. The system combines mechanical design capabilities with electronic system design and simulation in one unified environment, eliminating the need to switch between separate tools and improving overall design efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated environment provides universal functionality that handles both mechanical and electronic design tasks. The system can model mechanical components, create electrical schematics, perform circuit simulation, and generate embedded code all within the same platform, serving multiple design purposes simultaneously.
2Adaptability or versatility
If mechanical and electronic systems are designed separately, then each system can be developed independently, but collaboration and integration between the two disciplines become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges mechanical and electronic design workflows into a single integrated environment where both disciplines can collaborate simultaneously. Engineers can work on coupled mechanical-electronic systems in real-time within the same platform, improving cross-disciplinary collaboration and reducing integration time.
3Reliability
If comprehensive simulation of mechanical and electronic systems is performed, then system performance can be accurately predicted, but the simulation complexity and computational requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The simulation system segments the complex mechanical-electronic system into distinct but interconnected modules. Mechanical components, electrical circuits, and embedded control systems are modeled as separate functional blocks that can be simulated independently and then integrated, maintaining accuracy while managing complexity through modular architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated simulation environment provides universal modeling capabilities that handle mechanical, electrical, and control systems within a unified framework. This multi-functional approach allows comprehensive system simulation without requiring separate specialized tools for each domain.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a Computer Aided Design (CAD) environment is configured to maintain a model of a system. The CAD environment includes a plurality of predefined transducers, and a graphical user interface configured to permit a user to select one or more of the predefined transducers and connect the selected transducers to portions of the model. The CAD environment further includes a simulation engine to run a simulation of the model. A graphical programming environment is configured to execute a graphical program embodied in a block diagram. The graphical program receives one or more simulated transducer signals from the CAD environment and generates and sends one or more control signals to the CAD environment, to control the simulation.