Simulink Exporter

When developing a system design, there comes a time where the team progresses from the descriptive model of system, segment, and subsystem to the discrete model and the detailed design analysis of the lowest/configuration item level of the design. As the design moves from the system level through the segment and subsystem levels, the design matures through the identification, decomposition, and allocation of constraints and the parametric relationship of the constraints.

At the system level in GENESYS, the descriptive model has the general notion of how components (or blocks) in the system architecture interconnect to exchange matter, energy, and information in meeting the system requirements. This is reflected diagrammatically through the various interface diagrams, most specifically the physical block diagram and flow internal block diagram, which reflect physical connectivity. The detail of the interface descriptions contained at the lowest level of the architecture is provided through Link entities connecting specific component or configuration items.

The task for the design team at this level is to select and define the individual components, the connection requirements for the components, and to dynamically model and analyze the performance of the individual components to ensure satisfaction of the constraint parameters defined in the architecture.

The embedded Simulink connector, included with the GENESYS Pro version, allows you to connect the descriptive system model in GENESYS to the detailed design model in Simulink. To leverage this capability requires installing a small schema extension located in the GENESYS/Extensions folder. This extension adds an attribute to map an entity to a design block in Simulink and/or Simscape™. Then, through either the physical block diagram or the flow internal block diagram, you can associate the component in GENESYS with a specific block type in Simulink. The “Set Block Type” command on these diagrams opens a Simulink block browser, allowing you to associate the generic design entity within GENESYS to a specific model library element in Simulink. Setting the block type also instantiates the parameters defined in Simulink for the element into GENESYS, creating specific design parameters for the entity.

Once the components in GENESYS are associated with corresponding block types in Simulink, the GENESYS diagram can be exported to Simulink using the Simulink Exporter feature on the Utilities ribbon, creating a corresponding model in Simulink. This process allows the design team to move the model from GENESYS to the Simulink environment where the appropriate connections in Simulink can be made/validated, and dynamic analysis can be completed. With the detailed dynamic analysis completed in Simulink, the corresponding connections and ports can be constructed in GENESYS. As changes to the descriptive model in GENESYS or the detailed model in Simulink are made, the corresponding model can be updated.

NOTE:

For more detailed instructions on using the Simulink Connector, see the Simulink Connector Guide document located in the Documentation folder.