Video games have been a source of negativity at home, the office, and even at a special session of Congress. They have taken the place of loved ones, caused unemployment for some, and are considered a violent teaching aid to our children. However their ‘engines’, or software make up, are considered to be a positive boon for the machine developer industry. Engineering developers of tools or machines have relied on programs like CAD for a while now and before CAD they relied on paper and pencil. Siemens has now introduced Mechatronics Concept Designer to be the next generation engineering program that goes beyond CAD. MCD is based off of NX CAD, and Siemens Teamcenter PLM platform with an interactive simulation ability based off of Nvidia’s PhysX SDK. Today’s engineers usually work in diverse fields to create a machine tool or a production system but are limited in the fact that they don’t use the same programs when it comes to design, and in the end integration is a nightmare. What MCD does is give one platform for all aspects of machine engineering such as mechanical, electrical, and automation. Not only that but it also gives the users the ability to interact and test the project in a real-time virtual environment, much in the same way a player in a video game can interact with objects and alter the game’s outcome. The end result is that designers use less time for integration of systems or with modifications and additions.
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