Sayfield International
TKC ToolKit Creator
ADAMS/View Power-User Functionality


This section contains a text-based explanation and illustration of our in-house developed ADAMS based software called TKC (short for ToolKit Creator). The basics will be explained as well as the advantages of users of TKC in ADAMS. As a picture says more than a 1000 words, much of the functionality of TKC is also illustrated using YouTube videos. Please feel free to use and embed these videos, as long as you refer to Sayfield International.

Tutorials and screen recordings of TKC are placed on the Software tab.

If you are interested to make component based, parameterized ADAMS models for your daily work, please contact us and we'll discuss the possibilities of bringing TKC as an ADAMS plugin to you or supporting you in other ways in making more efficient ADAMS/View based models.

We are convinced that, by using TKC in ADAMS/View to support use of submodels and model components, you will make better quality and better documented ADAMS models in less time.

Check a selection of TKC based ADAMS animations and examples provided on our YouTube Channel (or search for TKC and ADAMS).

 

Short description of the TKC ADAMS Toolkit Creator Toolbox

The main purpose of TKC is provide a generic environment to allow ADAMS/View users to rapidly define dedicated component toolkits with a minimal overhead in defining user interface elements. TKC is a layer of ADAMS macros allowing users to define and create dedicated ADAMS toolboxes in a matter of hours. TKC allows creation of small vertical applications, but also of larger toolkits with more complex interactions between components.

At Sayfield we typically create a new toolbox with dedicated components in a matter of minutes to prepare for a demo presentation.

Features of ADAMS toolkits defined in TKC:

 

Main features of TKC based ADAMS models:

 

TKC base functionality vs TKC toolkits

When using TKC inside ADAMS there are actually two levels of usage:


Modification of a TKC based MSC ADAMS Conveyor Belt model


No further explanation will be included in this section of the core functionality of TKC. This will be made available to you as a user manual on your request. In stead, we will give a description of some of the most important groups of Toolkits defined in TKC

 

Cable Modeling Toolkits

A number of toolkits are defined in TKC to model Cable systems in several levels of detail. The basic idea here is that models of cables are as versatile in application and dynamics challenges as models of handling tires.


ADAMS TKC based CBL Cable modeling toolkit including system view


Model of Solar Array deployment using the CBL toolkit of TKC


Because of these considerations with repect to required model detail, three types of cables are defined in TKC:

Transport is not limited to one domain. It deals with land transport (two wheeled, four wheeled, tracked), water transport (vessels on or in the water) as well as air transport (aircraft, kites etc.). For simulation tasks in several transport related applications, a range of TKC toolkits are defined. We will show a sample of applications to illustrate simulation possibilities and give a taste of our past experience in modeling and capturing of dynamics system components into building blocks for complex system level models.


General Machinery Toolkits

As the title already indicates, General Machinery contains a wide range of different application fields. In these fields, a number of mechanical building elements keep re-occurring. Dynamic models of a number of these building elements are captured in a range of TKC toolkits. Several of these toolkits have already been used and verified in a number of consultancy projects. In this section we will show a number of ADAMS simulations created with TKC. Please contact us if you want to know more about any of the toolboxes used.

 


Heavy Transport Toolkits

Several examples have already been included in this document to illustrate use of ADAMS in the area of heavy transport. One additional movie is included here to illustrate the possibility to define booms of cranes using input data from the FEM code STAAD. The model illustrated is automatically created from a STAAD input file and also illustrates the possibility in ADAMS to make complex


MSC ADAMS simulation of complex contact behaviour in a heavy industry application

Wind Turbine Toolkits

Sayfield has worked with several companies to investigate possibilities for an ADAMS based wind turbine toolkit. The model below demonstrates the possibilities of a TKC based wind turbine toolkit that we developed. The toolkit was considered a useful model environment in an evaluation project performed in 2004 by ECN and Vortech engineering. The animation shows a simple wind turbine model with a discrete flexible tower and a basic model of the gear box and turbine blades. Definition and registration of the required components was done in a matter of hours, allowing the engineers to focus on component details and still keep an overview of the model topology.


MSC ADAMS model of a wind turbine including a 3D System View