Maplesoft Extends Connectivity to Tools from National Instruments

By DE Editors

Maplesoft has announced a product upgrade that extends connectivity to hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) products from National Instruments. In addition to connectivity to NI LabVIEW, which was announced recently, this updated MapleSim add-on also lets users connect to the new NI VeriStand product.

NI VeriStand is a software environment for configuring real-time testing applications, including HIL test systems. Engineers using LabVIEW or NI VeriStand can develop and optimize engineering system models in the visual modeling environment of MapleSim. This, says Maplesoft, can accelerate any project requiring high-fidelity engineering models for HIL applications, such as component testing and electronic controller development and integration.

Among the key benefits Maplesoft's cites for this extension of the Maple Connector is its ability to automatically convert high-performance, high-fidelity MapleSim models to user-code blocks for inclusion in LabVIEW VIs (virtual instruments) and NI VeriStand applications. Model code is said to be fully optimized for high-speed real-time simulation, allowing you to get the performance needed for HIL testing without sacrificing fidelity.

The extended MapleSim Connector can also export to LabVIEW and NI VeriStand such MapleSim models as rotational, translational, and multibody mechanical systems; thermal models; and electric circuits. MapleSim Connector for LabVIEW and NI VeriStand is said to create ANSI C code blocks for fast execution within LabVIEW, NI VeriStand, and the corresponding real-time platforms. The code blocks are created from the symbolically simplified system equations produced by MapleSim, which is reported to produce compact, highly efficient models.

“Through this collaboration, HIL testing and simulation will become faster and more convenient for our users,” said Chris Washington, real-time testing product manager at National Instruments in a press statement. “MapleSim’s high performance, coupled with the connector product’s ability to provide real-time simulation, will provide NI customers with powerful and efficient tools to address complex engineering processes.”

Single-user professional licenses of MapleSim 3 are available for US $2,995. The MapleSim Connector for LabVIEW and NI VeriStand software is available for US $995. Users who have already purchased the MapleSim LabVIEW Connector can upgrade to the new MapleSim Connector for LabVIEW and NI VeriStand software at no extra cost.

For more information, visit Maplesoft.

Download the MapleSim Connector for LabVIEW and NI VeriStand datasheet.

See why DE's Editors choose the MapleSim Connector for LabVIEW and NI VeriStand as their Pick of the Week.