How can I connect the DC motor housing to a lever-like mechanism while having the motor shaft connected to the aerodynamic propeller block?

Using Simscape, how can I connect the DC motor's housing to a lever-like mechanism while having the motor shaft connected to the aerodynamic propeller block to help me produce a Twin-Rotor MIMO system model?

Answer 1

[Samhitha]

Hi @Kamarl,

To create a Twin-Rotor MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) system model in Simscape, where the DC motor's housing is connected to a lever-like mechanism and the motor shaft is connected to an aerodynamic propeller block, you can follow these steps:

1. The motor housing can be represented as a fixed point or surface in your model. If you are using Simscape Multibody, this can be modeled using a“Rigid Transform”or a“Solid”block to represent the physical structure of the housing.
2. Use Simscape Multibody blocks to model the lever. You might use blocks such as“Solid”to represent the lever and“Revolute Joint”or“Prismatic Joint”to allow for rotational or translational motion.
3. Connect the lever to the motor housing using an appropriate joint. For example, if the lever rotates around a fixed axis attached to the motor housing, use a“Revolute Joint”.
4. Use a“Rigid Transform”block to position the motor housing relative to the lever. Connect the base of the“Revolute Joint”(or another joint type, depending on your design) to the motor housing's“Rigid Transform”.
5. Set the joint parameters to establish the lever's movement range, initial position, and any constraints. You can modify these parameters by clicking on the joint block and adjusting the settings in the dialog box that appears.

For more details, please look into the following Documentations:

Rigid Transform:

https://www.mathworks.com/help/releases/R2024a/sm/ref/rigidtransform.html?searchHighlight=rigid+transform&s_tid=doc_srchtitle

Revolute Joint:

https://www.mathworks.com/help/releases/R2024a/sm/ref/revolutejoint.html?s_tid=doc_ta