CAD/CAE Machine Design Software

Design and build 3D machines

Add parts and joints (Pin, Slide, Ball) to build mechanisms; exactly as you would design a machine with rotary joints, slide rails and rod-end bearings.  Simply design and add a motion to control a Part in the mechanism.

As many mechanisms as you need

Cams & Cam Followers, and Servo Motions

Cams are an integral part of Assembly, Packaging and Textile Machines.  MechDesigner does not limit you to the number of cams.

The Cams can be: rotating, sliding, or stationary. The Cam-Follower can be rotating, oscillating, sliding, or even on the coupler of a four-bar mechanism. You can design plate, groove, conjugate, barrel and globoidal cams in MechDesigner.

You can analyze the cams Pressure Angle, Radius of Curvature, Contact Force, and Contact Shear Stress.

Save Coordinates for manufacture , or export directly to SolidWorks.

In 3D

Create, edit, analyze and view your interacting mechanisms in a 3D environment.  Add Solids to the model:

• with the auto-solid generator,
• the part geometry editor,
• by importing SolidWorks parts/assemblies
• by importing DXF drawings
• by importing STL files

The Mechanisms can be spatial mechanisms also, so you can design and build your own Delta Robot.

All Synchronized

Each mechanism is synchronized to a common master clock that acts as the virtual lay-shaft. You can also move a mechanism as a function of the movement of another mechanism.

Of course, your mechanisms can have complex motion requirements.  Complex motions can be designed in MotionDesigner.

MotionDesigner - Multi-Axis Motion Design

MotionDesigner, the 'best-in-class', multi-axis motion design tool and add-in to MechDesigner. You can design and edit as many motions as your machine needs. You can also experiment with other other motions. You can import motions as a table and the design a new motion based on a position list. Plus much more.

As you edit each motion, it immediately updates the model and cams.

Cycle, or simulate, as fast as you like

MechDesigner has a slider bar to speed up or slow down the machine simulation at any time. Alternatively, you can increment, step-by-step, with as many step increments per machine cycle as you like.

Fast, exact, kinematic solutions

MechDesigner builds the mechanisms with efficient kinematic equations that give exact solutions.  This means that the simulation is precise and exact. The kinematic data, such as position, velocity and acceleration of any point in a mechanism link is known precisely. You can plot and save the kinematic data of course.

When you need to know the expected life of any bearing, or expected stress on any joint, you will be able to use precise data.

Inverse kinematics

In Packaging Machinery, it is important that you can design the motion for the tooling.  This is why MechDesigner has at its core an inverse kinematics. 

The motion for the tooling is designed first, at the machine to material interface,

The mechanism is added. The drive motions are calculated by MechDesigner, while keeping your machine to material interactions known and your important design motions intact.

Edit Design Parameters on-the-fly

A "Design Set" function lets you edit any number of critical geometric parameters in one dialog for design optimization. 

For example, minimize part accelerations or improve the critical timing of a mechanism's interaction with another.

Powerful input-output Function Blocks

MechDesigner uses Function-Blocks to control and analyze the movement of Parts as well as saving cam-coordinate data, with other cam analysis such as Pressure Angle, Radius of Curvature, contact force, stress...

Extensive Tutorials, Help, Hints, Support from Engineers.