Adams 2013

Release Guide

Corporate
MSC Software Corporation 2 MacArthur Place Santa Ana, CA 92707 USA Telephone: (800) 345-2078 FAX: (714) 784-4056

Europe
MSC Software GmbH Am Moosfeld 13 81829 Munich GERMANY Telephone: (49) (89) 43 19 87 0 Fax: (49) (89) 43 61 71 6

Asia Pacific
MSC Software Japan Ltd. Shinjuku First West 8F 23-7 Nishi Shinjuku 1-Chome, Shinjuku-Ku Tokyo 160-0023, JAPAN Telephone: (81) (3)-6911-1200 Fax: (81) (3)-6911-1201

Worldwide Web
www.mscsoftware.com

Disclaimer
This documentation, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may be used only in accordance with the terms of such license. MSC Software Corporation reserves the right to make changes in specifications and other information contained in this document without prior notice. The concepts, methods, and examples presented in this text are for illustrative and educational purposes only, and are not intended to be exhaustive or to apply to any particular engineering problem or design. MSC Software Corporation assumes no liability or responsibility to any person or company for direct or indirect damages resulting from the use of any information contained herein. User Documentation: Copyright 2013 MSC Software Corporation. Printed in U.S.A. All Rights Reserved. This notice shall be marked on any reproduction of this documentation, in whole or in part. Any reproduction or distribution of this document, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of MSC Software Corporation is prohibited. This software may contain certain third-party software that is protected by copyright and licensed from MSC Software suppliers. Portions of this software are owned by UGS Corp. Copyright 1997. All Rights Reserved. The MSC Software corporate logo, Adams, Adams/, MD, MD Adams, MSC, MSC Nastran, and MD Nastran are trademarks or registered trademarks of the MSC Software Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. FLEXlm is a registered trademark of Macrovision Corporation. Parasolid is a registered trademark of UGS Corp. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

ADAM:V2013:Z:Z:Z:DC-REL-PDF

Contents
Adams 2013

Preface
Welcome to Adams 2013 viii About MSC Software ix Overview ix About Virtual Product Development and Adams Technical Support x Web x Phone and Email x Training x Internet Resources xii

ix

Whats New
Whats New 2 Adams/Car 3 Model Browser support 3 Beam Element Leaf Spring Modeling 4 Powertrain Consolidation 5 Tire Force visualization and request output Adams/Chassis 9 Beam Element Leaf Spring Modeling Powertrain Consolidation 10 Straight Line Drive Ride Event 11 Solver Settings 12 Stabilizer-Bar Optimization 12 Part/Bushing Creation Editor 13 Request Output at Bushing Location Adams/Driveline 15 Model Browser support Adams/Machinery Bearing 17 17 15 9

14

iv Adams 2013

Adams/PostProcessor 18 Improvements 18 Animation Appearance Tab 18 Adams/SmartDriver 19 Output filtering 19 Power-based shifting 19 Automatic initial conditions calculation

21

Adams/Solver 22 Performance Improvements 22 New Non-Linear Beam and Field 22 Improved HHT integrator (step size selection, corrector) Adams/Tire 23 PAC2002 with belt dynamics for Ride applications Design of Experiments support for PAC2002 23 23

22

Adams/View 24 Ribbon Customization 24 Model Browser Configuration 24 Ability to display, without scrolling, custom text menus on the Main Menu bar 25 Copy/Paste support between GUI tables and between GUI tables and Excel cells 25 Full Adams/Tire Road visualization support in Adams/View 26 Updated Adams Runtime Environment on Windows 27

Running Adams Products

Starting Adams Products 30 Starting Adams Products on LINUX 30 Starting Adams Products on Windows 31 Setting Preferences 32 Setting Preferences on LINUX 32 Setting Preferences on Windows 32 Setting Your Working Directory 33

Getting Help
Tool Tips 36

CONTENTS v

Online Help 37 Versions of Web Browsers Accessing the Online Help Searching 42 Printing 42 Index 42 Tutorials and Examples

38 39

43

Supported Versions of Integration Products

Support for Easy5 and MATLAB Easy5 46 MATLAB 46 46

Supported Versions of Integration Products

47

Index

vi Adams 2013

MD Nastran 2006 Installation and Operations Guide

Preface

Welcome to Adams 2013 About MSC Software Technical Support Internet Resources

viii Adams 2013

Welcome to Adams 2013

Welcome to Adams 2013

Thank you for purchasing Adams 2013. Adams is motion simulation software for analyzing the complex behavior of mechanical assemblies. With it, you can test virtual prototypes and optimize designs for performance, safety, and comfort, without having to build and test numerous physical prototypes.

Preface

ix

About MSC Software

Overview
MSC Software Corporation is the leading global provider of virtual product development (VPD) tools, including simulation software and professional services. MSC Software helps companies make money, save time, and reduce costs associated with designing, testing, producing, and supporting manufactured products. MSC Software works with thousands of companies worldwide, in hundreds of industries, to develop better products faster by using information technology, software, and services to enhance and automate the product design and manufacturing process. Simulating your product performance reduces development costs, time to market, and warranty costs.

About Virtual Product Development and Adams

Youve heard it before: manufacturing companies today face intense global competition, demanding customers, fragmented markets, increasing product complexity, compressed product cycles, price and profit pressures, strict regulatory and liability environments, systems integration and supply chain issues, skyrocketing costs of testing and physical prototyping, and on and on What you dont often hear, though, is a strategy for enabling your company to improve your new product development process to meet these challenges. Whether you are delivering airplanes, automobiles, ships, biomedical devices, golf clubs or childrens toys to your customers, MSC Softwares goal is to help you improve your new product development process, allowing you to be significantly better at your concept development, design, testing, and production activities through the application of VPD. VPD is an environment that uses an integrated combination of both simulation software technology and traditional techniques to design, test, manufacture, and support products. The result is that cost-effective designs that meet all performance, safety, durability, and reliability requirements can be brought to market in less time and for less cost. Adams, as part of VPD, is focused on enhancing your ability to make better product development decisions, explore innovative design alternatives, and consistently get the product right. It is the world's most widely used mechanical system simulation software. It enables you to produce virtual prototypes, realistically simulating the full-motion behavior of complex mechanical systems on your computers and quickly analyzing multiple design variations until an optimal design is achieved. This reduces the number of costly physical prototypes, improves design quality, and dramatically reduces product development time.

x Adams 2013

Technical Support

Technical Support
For help with installing or using an MSC Software product, contact MSC technical support. Our technical support provides technical assistance on questions related to installation and use of the software. For further details please see the Technical Support Usage Guide, which is accessible via our support web site. You can reach MSC technical support on the web, by telephone, or e-mail.

Web
Go to the MSC Software web site at www.mscsoftware.com, and click on Services -> Technical Support. Here, you can find a wide variety of support resources including Product Updates, Discussions, Technical Articles, and Documentation updates. In addition, we provide several excellent sources of online information:
SimCompanion - Find solutions to problems in this repository of troubleshooting tips,

examples, and frequently asked questions. To access the SimCompanion, go to:

http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com VPD Community - The VPD community is where to go when you are looking for peer support,

as well as technical expertise. Many of our consultants, developers, and technical support staff monitor the forums. To sign up for the forums, go to:
http://forums.mscsoftware.com

Then:
To view the Adams discussions, select Adams. To view product alerts and company news and events, select MSC News.

Phone and Email

For a current list of phone numbers and language based email addresses please visit our support web site and click on Contact Technical Support.

Training
MSC Software training provides comprehensive training in Virtual Product Development. We offer standard and customized training courses in the application of CAE tools to solve from basic to complex problems within any industry. We offer over 100 courses in our state-of-the-art classroom facilities and individual computer graphics laboratories at training centers throughout the world. All of our courses emphasize hands-on computer laboratory work to facilitate skills development. We are uniquely positioned to optimize your investment in design and simulation software tools.

Preface

xi

Our industry experienced expert staff is available to customize our course offerings to meet your unique training requirements. For the most effective training, we also offer many of our courses at our customer's facilities. We specialize in customized training based on our evaluation of your design and simulation processes, which yields courses that are geared to your business. In addition to traditional instructor-led classes, we also offer video courses, interactive multimedia training, web-based training, and a specialized instructor's program. Course Information and Registration For detailed course descriptions, schedule information, and registration call the Training Specialist at (800) 732-7211 or visit www.mscsoftware.com.

xii Adams 2013

Internet Resources

Internet Resources
MSC Software (www.mscsoftware.com) MSC Software corporate site with information on the latest events, products and services for the CAD/CAE/CAM marketplace. MSC Software Store (store.mscsoftware.com) store.mscsoftware.com is a virtual marketplace where clients can find engineering expertise, and engineers can find the goods and services they need to do their job.

Whats New

Whats New, 2 Adams/Car, 3 Adams/Chassis, 9 Adams/Driveline, 15 Adams/Machinery, 17 Adams/PostProcessor, 18 Adams/SmartDriver, 19 Adams/Solver, 22 Adams/Tire, 23 Adams/View, 24 Updated Adams Runtime Environment on Windows, 27

2 Adams 2013
Whats New

Whats New
The following are highlights of additions to existing products. For Known Issues and Resolved Issues see respective MSC SimCompanion article.
Adams/Car, 3 Adams/Chassis, 9 Adams/Driveline, 15 Adams/Machinery, 17 Adams/PostProcessor, 18 Adams/SmartDriver, 19 Adams/Solver, 22 Adams/Tire, 23 Adams/View, 24 Updated Adams Runtime Environment on Windows, 27

CHAPTER 1 3 Whats New

Adams/Car
Model Browser support Beam Element Leaf Spring Modeling Powertrain Consolidation Tire Force visualization and request output

Model Browser support

Model browser support is available in Adams/Car in the Standard Interface as well as Template Builder mode. The content of the model browser can be customized using an .xml file that is packaged along with the installation ($topdir/<platform>/ModelBrowser.xml). To customize the model browser:
Copy the ModelBrowser.xml to the current working directory Edit the .xml to reflect the required customization

Any subsequent launch of Adams/Car will pick up the customized .xml file and accordingly display the content of the model browser.

4 Adams 2013
Adams/Car

Beam Element Leaf Spring Modeling

Adams/Car now supports the direct modeling of leaf springs. The new functionality is based on already existing capability in Adams/Chassis. The model is composed of a series of parts connected through beam elements. The contact between the leaves is modeled using vector forces with optional friction.

Input data has to be entered in unloaded configuration. A new leaf spring editor is made available for this purpose. Adams/Car then takes this data, along with bushing and hardpoint data from the template to create a new leaf spring model. This model can then be included in a template or subsystem for further analysis. In Adams/Car, a new menu item is added for building and modifying leaf springs. The dialog box takes hardpoint and bushing data as input, along with an unloaded leaf spring property file, and sends that data to a utility that exercises the leaf spring. The resulting model is then displayed in Adams/Car.

CHAPTER 1 5 Whats New

Powertrain Consolidation
Simplified powertrain capabilities are implemented through GSE solver elements featuring 4 different powertrain types. The interface is accessed through Simulate Full-Vehicle Analysis Vehicle Set-Up Set Powertrain Parameters and under the Adjust Powertrain Properties for the standard powertrain subsystem. A drop-down menu allows for the user to select among the following options for engine and transmission modeling, and adjust the different parameters according to the selected version: 1. Manual Gear Shifting: engine map, simplified clutch, manual transmission; 2. Simple (CVT): simplified engine (torque proportional throttle), continuous variable transmission; 3. Automatic with Torque Converter: engine map, torque converter splines, automatic transmission; 4. Robotized Dual-Clutch: engine map, step function clutch, and automatic transmission.

6 Adams 2013
Adams/Car

Under the Power/Velocity Plot button the user can visualize the power at the transmission output for given engine map and transmission shift points:

CHAPTER 1 7 Whats New

Tire Force visualization and request output

The animation controls panel offers a new option to visualize the tire - road interaction forces during the animation.

8 Adams 2013
Adams/Car

In addition the user can specify the tire request output in the new dialog 'Tire Request Activity' window:

CHAPTER 1 9 Whats New

Adams/Chassis
Beam Element Leaf Spring Modeling Powertrain Consolidation Straight Line Drive Ride Event Solver Settings Stabilizer-Bar Optimization Part/Bushing Creation Editor Request Output at Bushing Location

Beam Element Leaf Spring Modeling

The new functionality is based on already existing capability in Adams/Chassis. The model is composed of a series of parts connected through beam elements. The contact between the leaves is modeled using vector forces with optional friction. The editor can still be accessed through the "Utilities" menu. An additional field has been added in the spring editor such that the leaf spring property file (.ltf) is now directly accessed from the editor. A button was added to directly edit the leaf property that is associated with the current vehicle. When accessed from the spring editor, the hardpoint and bushing properties are automatically populated in the new leaf spring editor.

The Leaf Spring Editor is a new designed GUI for creating, visualizing, editing, and saving leaf spring property files. In the Leaf Spring Editor you can easily copy, paste or delete leaves or clips. You can also plot the leaf profiles or change the numerical values of leaf spring property file. The input data is organized into the following tabs: a. General - This tab contains data shared across the leaves. Here you can change the number of the leaves or clips by entering a new value in the corresponding cell. Then the corresponding tab will be updated accordingly. It is also possible to enter a comment in this tab. b. Leaves - Data specific to the individual leaves. There is one column for each leaf. Profile data for each leaf is entered at the bottom of the editor (Leaf #1, and so on.). c. Axle - Position and mass properties of the "dummy axle" used during the loading of the leaf spring submodel. d. Shackle - Mass and position of the shackle part. e. Geometry - Hardpoint locations are selected in Adams/Car, and displayed here for informational purpose (not editable).

10 Adams 2013

Adams/Chassis

f. Eyehooks - Geometry and position of eyehooks relative to leaf. g. Bushings - Bushing property information. Since the bushing property files are supplied by Adams/Car, only the interleaf bushings are specified here. Select the Fix Joint Leaf-to-Leaf to model the interleaf bushings as fixed joints. h. Clips - These are optional attachments at the ends of the leaf spring. In this case there is no clip defined in the property file therefore the clip table is empty.

Powertrain Consolidation
Simplified powertrain capabilities are implemented through GSE solver elements featuring 4 different powertrain types.

CHAPTER 1 11 Whats New

This new functionality has been added to the full powertrain templates (fwd.py, rwd.py, awd.py). The interface can be found under the "Engine" tab of the powertrain subsystem. A new example vehicle database (rwd_ind_gse.vdb) has been added to the Adams/Chassis examples directory. Similar to Adams/Car, a drop-down menu allows for the user to select among the following options for engine and transmission modeling, and adjust the different parameters according to the selected version: 0: Original: Uses original powertrain configuration as in previous releases. 1: Manual Gear Shifting: engine map, simplified clutch, manual transmission; 2: Simple (CVT): simplified engine (torque proportional throttle), continuous variable transmission; 3: Automatic with Torque Converter: engine map, torque converter splines, automatic transmission; 4: Robotized Dual-Clutch: engine map, step function clutch, and automatic transmission.

Note that the construction option "powertrain_model_type" should not be set to "Full" in order to use this feature.

Straight Line Drive Ride Event

This new event has been added to facilitate full vehicle ride events. Among other parameters, this event features an option to interpolate output, which allows the Solver to select the step size without being limited by the output step size. If this option is selected, the user can optionally specify the x-coordinate

12 Adams 2013

Adams/Chassis

locations of obstacles, which will add sensors to the model to detect the obstacle during the simulation and prevent the Solver from missing those impact events (for example, a pothole).

Solver Settings
These options are added to support the HHT integrator and the INTERPOLATE option on the INTEGRATOR statement. These options, as other solver settings, are accessed in the system parameters.

Stabilizer-Bar Optimization
The new stabilizer bar optimization option is added to the GUI. For stabilizer bars with many profile points, this can improve the performance by eliminating the number of beam elements that make up the

CHAPTER 1 13 Whats New

stabilizer bar model. The algorithm eliminates points that exceed a certain angle tolerance. The option is activated by a construction option.

Part/Bushing Creation Editor

Now automatically add parts and connectors "on-the-fly" directly from the Adams/Chassis GUI. For simple customizations, this eliminates the need for custom python coding. Like in previous releases, to add a new part/bushing, use the "Add" button in the GUI. When this feature is active, it will automatically add the desired element to the model. For parts, the default CG option is only valid if a hardpoint exists with the same name as the part. Similarly, the bushing will be located at a hardpoint location with the same name as the bushing. In addition, for user-defined bushings, a new editor will be visible to select the attachment parts. The option is activated via a construction option.

14 Adams 2013

Adams/Chassis

Request Output at Bushing Location

New interface is added for specifying request output at a bushing location. This interface allows the user to more closely control which requests are written out. In the past a single toggle controlled all the request output. The new interface allows the specification of the type of request (displacement, velocity, acceleration, force), along with an offset location. This location will be where the request is measured from, and it is defined relative to the hardpoint location that defines the bushing.

CHAPTER 1 15 Whats New

Adams/Driveline
Model Browser support

Model Browser support

Model browser support is available in Adams/Driveline in the Standard Interface as well as Template Builder mode. The content of the model browser can be customized using an xml file that is packaged along with the installation ($topdir/<platform>/ModelBrowser.xml). To customize the model browser:
Copy the ModelBrowser.xml to the current working directory Edit the.xml to reflect the required customization

16 Adams 2013

Adams/Driveline

Any subsequent launch of Adams/Driveline will pick up the customized .xml file and accordingly display the content of the model browser.

CHAPTER 1 17 Whats New

Adams/Machinery
Bearing

Bearing
The new Adams/Machinery Bearing module provides for the modeling of bearings within the Adams/View environment. Three modeling methods are available: Joint The joint method uses an ideal kinematic joint is used to represent the bearing. Constrained degrees of freedom will have no relative motion. This method is useful for only the most basic sizing applications Compliant A force is used to represent the bearing. Linear stiffness and damping can be applied. This method is useful when the effects of compliance must be considered. Detailed (Currently available on Windows only) A force is used to represent rolling element bearings. Using advanced analysis technology from worldrenowned drivetrain simulation software KISSsoft, stiffness is calculated at every step based on the positions and velocities at the bearing location. Damping is based on user-specified factors. Also, a KISSsoft library can be used to lookup characteristic geometry values for many catalog bearings from several manufacturers. This method provides a far more accurate representation of the bearing compliance than the compliant method. It also allows for service life prediction based on industry standards. To access Adams/Machinery Bearing, from the Adams/View Ribbon click on the Machinery tab and use the icons in the Bearing container.

18 Adams 2013

Adams/PostProcessor

Adams/PostProcessor
Improvements Animation Appearance Tab

Improvements
Multiple improvements have been implemented:
Adams/PostProcessor window can be open simultaneously with Adams/View window and

multi-monitor support for Adams windows has been improved

Plot configuration file (.plt) import/export functionality no longer requires Adams/View users to

load the "Adams/Car Plotting" plugin

Plot configuration file (.plt) coverage has been extended, notably for: Bode plots Scatter plots Curve math Some complex function expressions with multiple analysis result component references Access to "Create Spec Line" via toolbar button Toggle between selected curves within a plot via up/down arrow keys Ability to pan a zoom window across plots Ability to copy page and window-pane content directly to the clipboard for more convenient

paste actions to other programs like Microsoft Word or PowerPoint (previously one had to rely solely on file export actions and subsequent import actions)

Animation Appearance Tab

New functionality has been added to the animation dashboard: the animation appearance tab. This enables one to modify the appearance of any piece of geometry during animation based on conditions applied to any result set component, animation frame, or simulation time.

CHAPTER 1 19 Whats New

Adams/SmartDriver
Output filtering Power-based shifting Automatic initial conditions calculation

Output filtering
The filters for outputs from the driving machine controllers have been exposed. These can help improve controller performance (particularly steering) on rough roads.

Power-based shifting
The existing "kick-down control" feature has been improved and exposed in the SmartDriver event dialog box. This feature can provide runtime shifting behavior that more nearly matches the assumptions used to calculate velocity targets in vehicle limits events.

20 Adams 2013

Adams/SmartDriver

CHAPTER 1 21 Whats New

Automatic initial conditions calculation

The option to have "optimal" values of initial vehicle speed, longitudinal acceleration and/or gear automatically calculated during the target calculation pre-phase of SmartDriver events has been added (to minimize "lap time", for example).

22 Adams 2013

Adams/Solver

Adams/Solver
Performance Improvements New Non-Linear Beam and Field Improved HHT integrator (step size selection, corrector)

Performance Improvements
Adams/Solver C++ underwent architectural changes to accommodate high performance coding. The following changes have been implemented: 1. Streamlined selected sections of the code to improve execution speed. 2. Optional parallel LU factorization. This option can only be triggered using the environment variable MSC_ADAMS_PARALLEL_CALAHAN. This option improves the performance of large models and/or models with flexible bodies.

New Non-Linear Beam and Field

Two new beam formulations are now available for the BEAM statement. The parameter FORMULATION has a default value of LINEAR (to match the behavior of previous releases); however, users can set it to NONLINEAR to set a geometrically non-linear Euler-Bernoulli formulation, or users can set it to STRING to set an approximate geometrically non-linear formulation (see Theory of Matrix Structural Analysis by J.S. Przemieniecki). The FIELD statement also has the new parameter FORMULATION set to LINEAR by default. This default guarantees backward-compatibility with previous releases. However, FORMULATION can be set to NONLINEAR forcing the solver to use an approximate geometrically non-linear formulation. This new option is useful for case when FIELD elements are used to model tapered beams. Along with this option, a LENGTH_TOLEARANCE has been provided to avoid divisions by zero.

Improved HHT integrator (step size selection, corrector)

The step size selection algorithm in the HHT integrator has been enhanced to avoid the problem of having a too small time step causing either a simulation failure or poor performance. The HHT integrator now chooses a better step size to proceed with the simulation. The HHT integrator now honors the CORRECTOR=MODIFIED option. In previous release, the HHT integrator only had one type of corrector convergence criteria. Starting with this release, CORRECTOR=MODIFIED will force the solver to relax HHT's convergence criteria of Lagrange multipliers only. Research showed that Lagrange-multipliers corrections suffer from fluctuations when having small time steps. Those fluctuations provide false convergence assurance. Using CORRECTOR=MODIFIED, the fluctuations are ignored during the convergence assessment improving overall performance.

CHAPTER 1 23 Whats New

Adams/Tire
PAC2002 with belt dynamics for Ride applications Design of Experiments support for PAC2002

PAC2002 with belt dynamics for Ride applications

Typically Pacejka handling tire models with relaxation modeling for transient are valid up to approximately 8 Hz. They are state of the art for handling type of simulation on rather smooth road. However for vehicle simulations when chassis control is involved or (short) road obstacles tire belt dynamics starts to play a role.

With the new belt dynamics modeling in PAC2002 Adams/Tire provides a tire model that offers the Force and Moment accuracy of a Pacejka model in combination with a high fidelity required for ride and chassis control.

Design of Experiments support for PAC2002

PAC2002 offers the user to define a set of DOE parameters in the tire property file. Adams/Car supports this functionality by creating an array for each tire containing these parameters and which are then referenced by Adams/View Design Variables. These Design Variables can be used in for example, Adams/Insight to change PAC2002 properties in design of experiments studies.

24 Adams 2013
Adams/View

Adams/View
Ribbon Customization Model Browser Configuration Ability to display, without scrolling, custom text menus on the Main Menu bar Copy/Paste support between GUI tables and between GUI tables and Excel cells Full Adams/Tire Road visualization support in Adams/View

Ribbon Customization
Two Adams/View Ribbon customization features have been added: General Ribbon Customization This allows users to read in their customized .xml files from within Adams/View. The user can do this in two ways:
Via command language by executing the "interface ribbon read filename=user-defined .xml

filename" command
Selecting the ribbon.xml file from the File-Open dialog that appears when the user clicks on

Tools Ribbon Read When this command is executed, the earlier ribbon will be deleted and a new ribbon will be created based upon the .xml file read in. If the XML file syntax is incorrect the default ribbon.xml provided in the installation folder will be used. Once the user has read his/her customized ribbon, they can revert back to the default ribbon by do one of the following:
Via command language by executing "interface ribbon read" providing no filename parameter. By clicking on Tools Ribbon Read Local Ribbon

Ribbon Customization for Plugins This allows users to specify individual ribbon.xml for each plugin. This will be done by allowing the user to add the Ribbon entries relating to the Plugin tab in the file <basename>_plg.xml file associated with the plugin.

Model Browser Configuration

The content of the model browser can be customized using an .xml file that is packaged along with the installation ($topdir/<platform>/ModelBrowser.xml). To customize the model browser:
Copy the ModelBrowser.xml to the current working directory Edit the .xml to reflect the required customization

CHAPTER 1 25 Whats New

Any subsequent launch of Adams/View will pick up the customized xml file and accordingly display the content of the model browser.

Ability to display, without scrolling, custom text menus on the Main Menu bar
Custom menus can now be added in the main menu bar, without having to use scroll-bars. The user can allocate how the horizontal space is shared between the Main Menu bar and the Standard Toolbar. The Main Menu bar expands to fill up any extra space not used by the Standard Toolbar. The hidden buttons on the Standard Toolbar appear in a popup window on clicking the extension button on the toolbar.

Copy/Paste support between GUI tables and between GUI tables and Excel cells
It is now possible to copy/paste data from cells inside Adams Table. The data can be copied and pasted between Adams Tables or between an Adams Table and cells in an Excel spreadsheet. In addition to using the popup menu on right click for copy and paste, users can also use Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V shortcuts, respectively.

26 Adams 2013
Adams/View

Full Adams/Tire Road visualization support in Adams/View

In Adams/View the supported road formats have been extended with the RGR and CRG road formats while the visualization of 3D Spline roads has been improved.

CHAPTER 1 27 Whats New

Updated Adams Runtime Environment on Windows

The Adams runtime environment on Windows:
Eliminated files written to the C:\windows directory. Eliminated Adams configuration data from being stored in the Windows registry. The scripts now "discover" where they are installed. The MSC_LICENSE_FILE string storage was moved from the Windows registry to the

Adams registry. Users can override the installed license in their local Adams registry.
Enable any installation of Adams to be used as a centralized server installation.

To run Adams as a network installation: 1. Install Adams 2013. 2. Share the directory where Adams is installed. 3. On client workstations use the network path to run Adams: \\CAE_Server\Adams_x64\2013\common\mdi.bat

28 Adams 2013

Updated Adams Runtime Environment on Windows

MD Nastran 2006 Installation and Operations GuideMD Nastran

Running Adams Products

Starting Adams Products, 30 Setting Preferences, 32 Setting Your Working Directory, 33

30 Adams 2013

Starting Adams Products

Starting Adams Products

This sections described how you can start your Adams products on LINUX and on Windows.

Starting Adams Products on LINUX

The Adams Toolbar is a starting point to using Adams products on LINUX. The toolbar is shown below. Adams Toolbar tool - Right click to set up Toolbar, manage memory models, access online help and Technical Support resources and more

Product tools - Click to run product or right-click to configure products and create user libraries. Hold the cursor over a tool to see the name of the associated product. You can also use the Adams Toolbar to:
Customize, keep track of, and organize multiple libraries of standard Adams products Create binaries Manage custom memory models and product preferences

For more information on these or other Adams Toolbar operations, see the Running and Configuring online help (from the Help menu in any product, select Adams Help, on the left pane, select Configuring Adams). To start a product on LINUX: 1. To display the Adams Toolbar, at the command prompt, enter the command adamsx where x is the version number, for example adams2013. 2. Click on the tool representing the product you want to start. Note: We recommend that you use the Adams Toolbar to start your Adams products, but if you want to automate certain operations, use the text-based Program Menu. For more information, see the Running and Configuring online help.

CHAPTER 2 31 Running Adams Products

Starting Adams Products on Windows

You start any Adams product from the Start menu. You can also use the Start menu to:
Change your license type Generate problem reports Set Adams preferences

For more information on these or other operations, see the Running and Configuring online help. To start a product on Windows: From the Start menu, point to Programs, point to MSC.Software, point to Adams 2013, point to the name of the product you want to start, and then select the product type. For example, point to ACar, and then select Adams - Car. Tip: Select the corresponding desktop icon for the product, if you installed it on your desktop.

32 Adams 2013

Setting Preferences

Setting Preferences
This section describes how you can set preferences, such as your working directory, graphics setting, and memory model size.

Setting Preferences on LINUX

You use the Registry Editor from the Adams Toolbar to set a variety of preferences. For information on the preferences you can set, see the Running and Configuring online help. To display the Registry Editor: From the Adams Toolbar, right-click any product tool, and then select Change <Product Name> Settings.

Setting Preferences on Windows

You use the Settings menu to modify:
Graphics settings HOOPS settings Memory model size

To display the Settings dialog box: From the Start menu, point to Programs, point to MSC.Software, point to Adams 2013, and then select Adams - Settings.

CHAPTER 2 33 Running Adams Products

Setting Your Working Directory

During a session in a default or custom product, you can select the directory where you want to place your model and output files. For Adams/View, you can set the working directory from the Welcome dialog box. To set your working directory: 1. From the File menu, select Select Directory. 2. In the dialog box that appears, select the working directory.

34 Adams 2013

Setting Your Working Directory

MD Nastran 2006 Installation and Operations GuideMD Nastran

Getting Help

Tool Tips, 36 Online Help, 37 Tutorials and Examples, 43

36 Adams 2013
Tool Tips

Tool Tips
Tool tips display information about the item the cursor is currently over in an Adams product. The following shows the tool tip that appears when you place the cursor over the link geometry tool.

To display tool tips: Move the cursor over the item in the interface on which youd like information. A brief description of the item appears.

CHAPTER 3 37 Getting Help

Online Help
To help you use the Adams products, MSC Software provides online help (HTML format). To view the online help and tutorials, you can use your default Web browser. An example of online help is shown below

38 Adams 2013
Online Help

Versions of Web Browsers

For the Adams Help system, all you need is a Windows, Macintosh, or LINUX computer running a fairly new browser with JavaScript enabled. If JavaScript is not enabled, then the Help set will not display in its entirety. You also need to have appropriate Acrobat reader to view PDF files from online help system. We recommend that you view the online help using one of the following browsers:
Internet Explorer 5.x or 6.x Netscape Navigator 7.x or 8.x Mozilla/Firefox 2.x or 3.x

CHAPTER 3 39 Getting Help

Accessing the Online Help

You can view help for a dialog box, a product, or for all Adams products. The figure below shows the help for all Adams products, called the integrated master site. You can use this site to view any products help and search across all product help. You can also access release notes for all products, and view the documents in Adobe Reader.

To get help on a dialog box: 1. Click in the dialog box for which you need help. 2. Press F1. Adams launches a browser window that contains information about the dialog box.

40 Adams 2013
Online Help

To get general help on your product: From your products Help menu, select Product Name Help (where Product Name is the name of your Adams product). Adams launches a browser window that contains the starting point for your products online help. To get help on another Adams product: Perform one of the following:
If youre in an Adams product, from its Help menu, select Adams Help. If youre in the help for an Adams product, use the All Products Help button (

)to get to

main help system. Your default browser starts and displays the master site for Adams online help. To open the Adams online help from the Adams Toolbar: Right-click the Adams Toolbar tool, and then select Online Help. Your default browser starts and displays the master site for Adams online help. To open the Adams online help from the Start Menu: From the Start menu, point to Programs, point to MSC.Software, point to Adams 2013, and then select Adams - Online Help. Your default browser starts and displays the master site for Adams online help.

CHAPTER 3 41 Getting Help

Navigating through the Help You navigate through the Adams help system as you do through any help system, selecting topics in the pane on the left. In addition, weve provided:
Navigation arrows

at the top of the pane to let you scroll through topics one at a

time.
Automatic sync

to show you where your current topic is in the table of contents (TOC).

This is very helpful if you, for example, search for a topic and want to know if there are more topics on the subject. It shows you where the topic is in the TOC, allowing you to see whether or not there are more topics with it.

42 Adams 2013
Online Help

Searching
You can search all the help files in HTML format for a particular product or all Adams products. If you are in a product specific help 1. Open the online help for your product. 2. Press Search button press the Go button at the top of the help window, enter the search text, and then .

The results appear in the pane on the left, replacing the table of contents. 3. Click the topic you want to view. If you are in Adams help system 1. Press search button at the top of help window, which will give an option to search All Available products or A single product. 2. Enter the search text and follow Steps 2 and 3 above

Printing
To print a file:
In the help system you can select the Print button You can select the PDF button

. to print the topic that you are viewing

. to see the entire PDF file pertaining to the topic and print

the file like a regular PDF file. Notice that some of the images in PDF file may be cropped.

Index
The Index tab displays an alphabetical list of keywords associated with help topics. To view index entries, you can select a letter group to display the entries for that group. When you click on an index entry, the related topic will display in the topic frame. You can select Indexes in a product specific help or in the main help system.

CHAPTER 3 43 Getting Help

Tutorials and Examples

Adams products have a set of tutorials or getting started guides that step you through examples of using the products features, as well as introduce the basic concepts of the product. The getting started guides are online. In addition, many of the products have examples of its features that are stored in Knowledge Base Articles. You will find links to all the tutorials and examples for a product under its Examples tab. To access the tutorials and examples: From the online help for a product, from the pane on the left, select Examples.
From the online help, from the left pane, select Getting Started and select the product that you

are interested in.

44 Adams 2013

Tutorials and Examples

MD Nastran 2006 Installation and Operations GuideMD Nastran

Supported Versions of Integration Products

Support for Easy5 and MATLAB, 46 Supported Versions of Integration Products, 47

46 Adams 2013

Support for Easy5 and MATLAB

Support for Easy5 and MATLAB

Easy5
This release of Adams/Controls is certified to run with Easy5 2010, 2010.1.2, 2010.1.3 and 2010.1.4. Easy5 version support is subject to change. For the latest information, see updates to the Release Guide here: http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/.

MATLAB
The supported versions of MATLAB are R2011b and R2012a. For more information on MATLAB platforms and compatibility, see:
http://www.mathworks.com/support

Note:

If you want to co-simulate with Easy5 or MATLAB and you are running Adams/Controls on one of the platforms that Easy5 or MATLAB does not support, you should consider using TCP/IP communication. This allows Adams/Controls to communicate with Easy5 or MATLAB even though the codes are running on different platforms.

CHAPTER 4 47 Supported Versions of Integration Products

Supported Versions of Integration Products

Adams Product

Company The Mathworks, Inc.

Product Name MATLAB R2011b MATLAB Coder Simulink Coder

Product Version Version 7.13

Platform Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4 x64 Windows Server 2008 Windows Server 2008 x64 Windows 7 Windows 7 x64 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4 x64 Windows Server 2008 Windows Server 2008 x64 Windows 7 Windows 7 x64 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4 x64 Windows 7 Windows 7 x64 LINUX and Windows

Adams/Controls

The Mathworks, Inc.

MATLAB R2012a MATLAB Simulink Real-Time Workshop

Version 7.14 Adams/Controls

MSC Software Corporation

Easy5

2010, 2010.1.2, 2010.1.3 and 2010.1.4

Adams/Controls

MSC Software Corporation MSC Software Corporation MSC Software Corporation MSC Software Corporation nCode

MD Nastran

R1 and above

Adams/Car Ride Adams/Vibration

MSC.Nastran

V69.X and above

Adams/Durability LINUX and Windows Adams/Flex

Marc

2005 and above 2003 and above

Adams/Durability LINUX and Windows Adams/Flex Adams/Durability LINUX and Windows Adams/Durability LINUX and Windows

Fatigue FE-Fatigue

2001 and above Version 5.2 and above

48 Adams 2013

Supported Versions of Integration Products

Company ANSYS, Inc.

Product Name ANSYS

Product Version V6.0 and above V5.4 and above

Adams Product

Platform

Adams/Durability LINUX and Windows Adams/Flex Adams/Durability LINUX and Windows Adams/Flex Adams/Durability LINUX and Windows Adams/Flex

Hibbitt, Karlsson & Sorensen, Inc. (HKS) UGS PLM Solutions

ABAQUS/ADAMS

Version 6.3 and above Version 6.1-1 and above

I-DEAS Mechanism I-DEAS NX 10 and Design above I-DEAS 8, 9, NX 10 and above

MSC.Fatigue Quick Start Guide

Index
Adams 2013

A
Index Index

Mozilla, using with help, 38

Accessing online help, 39 Adams Starting, 30 Adams Toolbar starting online help from, 40 Automatic TOC sync, about, 41

Navigating through online help, 41 Netscape Navigator version for help, 38

B D E

Browsers, versions for help, 38

Online Help, 37 accessing, 39 Online help navigating through, 41 printing, 42 searching single product, 42

Dialog box, accessing help for, 39

Easy5, 46 Examples, 43

Preferences, 32 Printing online help, 42

F1, using to access help, 39 Firefox version for help, 38

Integrated master site, about, 39 Integration Products, 47 Internet Explorer version for help, 38

Linux Preferences, 32 Starting Adams, 30 Starting online help from, 40

Scrolling through help, 41 Searching online help, 42 Setting Working Directory, 33 Starting On Linux, 30 On Windows, 31 online help, 39 Starting Adams, 30 Support for Easy5, 46 Matlab, 46

Viewing all product help, 39

Master help site, 39 Matlab, 46

Web browsers, versions for help, 38

50 Adams 2013

Whats New, 2 Windows Preferences, 32 starting Adams, 31 Starting online help from, 40