Actuator (hwx.inspire.motion)

Creates an Actuator.

Actuators drive parts in a translational manner, and can be defined in terms of displacement, velocity, acceleration, or force. It’s a convenient way to apply a time-dependent force to your model.

Inherits:

  • MotionConnector (hwx.inspire.motion)

Attributes

active: Bool

arrowScale: Double

averageValue: EnumUnion (type)

baseScale: Double

clevisPinHoles: Attribute

coaxial: Bool

coaxialJoint: Enum

connectionRadius: Double

controller: Bool

controllerType: Enum

cyclic: Double

direction: Direction

dtValue: Double

duration: Double

dwellTime: Double

dwellX: Attribute

dxValue: Attribute

entity1: Attribute

entity2: Attribute

finalFrequency: Double

flipAxis: Bool

frequency: Double

function: Enum

icVelocity: Double

indVarComp: Enum

indVarEntity: Attribute

initialFrequency: Double

joint: Attribute

kd: Double

ki: Double

kp: Double

lineOfSight: Bool

location1: Location

location2: Location

locked: Bool

mountColor: Color

mountPivotAxis: Direction

mountPivotType: Enum

name: Attribute

overrideConnRadius: Bool

parts: Attribute

penalty: Double

penalty1: Double

phaseShift: Double

profile: Attribute

profileMode: Enum

reverseDirection: Bool

rotateWithPart: Bool

rotation: Double

sdProfile: Attribute

shaftColor: Color

shaftRadius: Double

shaftRotation: Double

span: Attribute

spline: Attribute

splineMethod: Enum

startTime: Double

stepOff: Attribute

stepOn: Attribute

sweepInterval: Double

type: Enum

userFunction: Attribute

userFunctionScale: Double

userFunctionUnits: Attribute

value: EnumUnion (type)

visible: Bool

x0: Attribute

x1: Attribute

y0: EnumUnion (type)

y1: EnumUnion (type)

Properties

Public Methods

classmethod areFeaturesASlot (cls, obj, planes)

classmethod isValidCandidate (cls, obj)

getShaftLength (self)

getShaftRadius (self)

getTranslationalValue (self)

isCoaxial (self)

isLineOfSight (self)

Attribute Details

active : Bool

Returns or sets the object activeness.

Setting this on or off sets all children. Setting to True sets all the parents active too.

arrowScale : Double

The scaling factor used to draw the graphical arrow of the actuator.

averageValue : EnumUnion (type)

The average value for the actuator when the function is set to Oscillating, defaults to 0.

baseScale : Double

The scaling factor used to draw the graphical base body of the actuator.

clevisPinHoles : Attribute

Lists all the cylindrical features from a clevis pin part, that has 3 aligned holes and outside two holes are in the same part.

coaxial : Bool

If True, the actuator maintains the direction relative to shaftConnection.

This property is only specifiable when lineOfSight is False

coaxialJoint : Enum (CYLINDRICAL, TRANSLATIONAL)

Creates a joint in the direction of actuation.

CoaxialJoint can be a Cylindrical or Translational. This property is only specifiable when lineOfSight is False

connectionRadius : Double (units=”length”)

Specifies the radius of the connection.

controller : Bool

If True, sets the behavior of the Actuator specified by function and value properties, else the behavior of the actuator will be driven with hand of god type motion

controllerType : Enum (PID, SOFT_CONSTRAINT)

The type of controller used to achieve the behavior specified by function and value.

Controller type can be PID or Soft Constraint.

Specifiable when actuator is of type Displacement or Velocity and controller is set to True

cyclic : Double

The number of revolution of State dependent variable, when the variable component is cyclic motion.

direction : Direction

The direction of the actuator wrt shaftConnection.

dtValue : Double (units=”time”)

Specifies the amount of time allowed to blend in and out of the actuation profile.

Specifiable when function is set to Single Wave, Oscillating and Table, defaults to 0.05s.

duration : Double (units=”time”)

The amount of time the function will take for Step and Impulse.

For Ramp function duration is defined as the amount of time taken by the actuator to achieve the value.

dwellTime : Double (units=”time”)

The amount time of the actuation profile dwells.

Specifiable when function is set to Step Dwell Step, defaults to 1s.

dwellX : Attribute

The amount x of the actuation profile dwells.

Specifiable when function is set to Step Dwell Step, defaults to 1s.

dxValue : Attribute

Specifies the amount of x allowed to blend in and out of the actuation profile.

Specifiable when function is set to Single Wave, Oscillating and Table, defaults to 0.05s.

entity1 : Attribute

The feature entity actuator is attached to.

entity2 : Attribute

The second feature entity actuator is attached to.

finalFrequency : Double (units=”frequency”)

The final frequency for the actuator function Swept Sine, defaults to 1Hz.

flipAxis : Bool

If True, flips the axis direction of the actuator, defaults to False.

frequency : Double (units=”frequency”)

Specifies the frequency value in Hz, when the function is set to Oscillating, defaults to 1Hz.

function : Enum

The type of actuation profile.

The function can be a Step, Step Dwell Step, Single Wave, Oscillating, Swept Sine, Impulse, Ramp, Solver Expression and Table, defaults to Step Dwell Step

icVelocity : Double (units=”velocity”)

The initial velocity of the actuator.

This is specifiable when the type of actuator is Acceleration

indVarComp : Enum

indVarEntity : Attribute

initialFrequency : Double (units=”frequency”)

The initial frequency for the actuator function Swept Sine, defaults to 1Hz.

joint : Attribute

kd : Double

The derivative action of a PID controller enhances stability of the control system by predicting the future behavior.

ki : Double

This term multiplied by accumulated error represents the integral term of a PID. Having an integral term minimizes the steady state error.

kp : Double

The amount of restoring force that should be applied to overcome position error.

Specifiable only when controller type is set to PID.

lineOfSight : Bool

If True, the direction of the actuation is defined by both shaft and mount location attributes, defaults to False

location1 : Location (units=”length”)

The location of the actuator wrt shaftConnection.

location2 : Location (units=”length”)

The location of the actuator wrt mountConnection.

This is specifiable when lineOfSight is True.

locked : Bool

If True, the actuator does not actuate during a Motion Analysis, defaults to False.

mountColor : Color

The color for the base body of the actuator.

mountPivotAxis : Direction

Specifies the direction of the actuator mount pivot.

This property is only specifiable when mountPivotType is set to Revolute.

mountPivotType : Enum (FIXED, SPHERICAL, REVOLUTE)

Specifies how the mount connection attaches to the actuator.

The type can be, Fixed, Spherical or Revolute. This property is only specifiable when lineOfSight is True

name : Attribute

Returns or sets the name of the object.

It can be any text string, including spaces, although it’s best to avoid using the following characters: ” ‘ * ? and $.

While these characters are allowed, they could create difficulties when you export the model to other applications.

overrideConnRadius : Bool

Allows to override default connection radius value.

parts : Attribute

Lists all the parts the object is attached to.

penalty : Double (units=”stiffness”)

The proportional factor used in the calculation of the restoring force.

Specifiable only when controller type is set to Soft Constraint.

penalty1 : Double (units=”damping”)

The derivative factor used in the calculation of the restoring force.

Specifiable only when controller type is set to Soft Constraint.

phaseShift : Double (units=”angle”)

The angular phase shift of the actuator when the function is set to Oscillating, defaults to 0 deg.

profile : Attribute

profileMode : Enum (TIME, STATE)

reverseDirection : Bool

If True, reverses the direction of the applied force, defaults to False.

rotateWithPart : Bool

The actuator rotates with the attached part during a Motion Analysis, defaults to True.

rotation : Double (units=”angle”)

The rotational offset of the actuator base.

sdProfile : Attribute

shaftColor : Color

The color for the cylindrical shaft of the actuator.

shaftRadius : Double (units=”length”)

The radius value for the cylindrical shaft of the actuator.

shaftRotation : Double (units=”angle”)

The rotational offset of the actuator shaft.

span : Attribute

Specifies the duration of the oscillation, when the function is set to Oscillating or Single Wave, defaults to 2s.

spline : Attribute

splineMethod : Enum (AKIMA, CUBIC, LINEAR)

Specifies the interpolation method for the actuation profile.

Interploation methods can be Akima, Cubic, Linear. Specifiable when function is set to Table

startTime : Double (units=”time”)

The time at which the actuator begins to move during a Motion Analysis.

This is not specifiable when actuator function is of type Solver Expression

stepOff : Attribute

The amount of x taken to ramp up the Step Dwell Step function, defaults to 0.5s.

stepOn : Attribute

The amount of x taken to ramp up the Step Dwell Step function, defaults to 0.5s.

sweepInterval : Double (units=”time”)

The amount of time that should be spent transitioning between the initialFrequency and finalFrequency of a Swept Sine function, defaults to 1s.

type : Enum (DISPLACEMENT, SPEED, ACCELERATION, FORCE)

Type of Actuation to be performed.

Type can be Displacement, Velocity, Acceleration and Force.

userFunction : Attribute

A motionsolve user expression that will define the behavior of the actuation.

Specifiable when function is set to Solver Expression, defaults to TIME

userFunctionScale : Double

The scaling factor for the user expression.

Specifiable when function is set to Solver Expression.

userFunctionUnits : Attribute

The units for the user expression.

Specifiable when function is set to Solver Expression.

value : EnumUnion (type)

Specifies the absolute translational value of the actuator depending upon the type. If type of actuator is:

  • Displacement then the default value is 100 mm.

  • Velocity then the default value is 1 m/s.

  • Acceleration then the default value is 1 m/s2.

  • Force the the default value is 1 N.

visible : Bool

Determines whether the object is visible in the graphics window.

Setting this on or off sets all children. Setting to True sets all the parents visible too.

x0 : Attribute

x1 : Attribute

y0 : EnumUnion (type)

y1 : EnumUnion (type)

Property Details

property baseRotation

The rotational offset of the actuator base.

property connectorMode

Specifies the type of connection used by the actuator.

connectorModes can be,

  • ‘PointToPoint’ if lineOfSight is enabled, otherwise

  • ‘Face’

property mountConnection

The second feature entity actuator is attached to.

property mountLocation

The location of the actuator wrt mountConnection.

This is specifiable when lineOfSight is True.

property shaftConnection

The feature entity actuator is attached to.

property shaftDirection

The direction of the actuator wrt shaftConnection.

property shaftLocation

The location of the actuator wrt shaftConnection.

Method Details

classmethod areFeaturesASlot(cls, obj, planes)

Filters out contact-joints that are slots.

param obj

Joint object used to get the axis points.

type obj

Joint

param planes

Plane features from which slots are determined.

type planes

FeaturePlanar

returns

True if the planes are slots, False otherwise.

rtype

bool

classmethod isValidCandidate(cls, obj)

Determines if an actuator can be created from the passed joint connection.

param obj

A joint object.

type obj

Joint

returns

A valid joint candidate.

rtype

bool

getShaftLength(self)

Computes the shaft length for non LOS and non 2 holes cases.

getShaftRadius(self)

Returns the shafts hole radius or the radius attribute.

getTranslationalValue(self)

Return the speed, displacement or acceleration depending on the classification of the actuator.

isCoaxial(self)

Determines if the actuator axis restrained by a CYLINDRICAL joint.

isLineOfSight(self)

Determines if this is a line of sight actuator.