The Relationship Between the Optimization Toolkit and MotionSolve

This section summarizes the structure of the software that is provided for optimization.

  • In MotionView, an Optimization Wizard guides you through a step-by-step process for defining optimization problems.
  • Parametric models are typically built in MotionView. These models are exported in a format that the MotionSolve Optimization Application can understand.
  • The Optimization Application is a layer of Python code that relies on the MSOLVE API to communicate with MotionSolve. Optimization specific capabilities are embedded in this layer.
  • The Optimization Application also requires the specification of an optimization problem. This manual will show you how to specify optimization problems with several examples.
  • The core optimization capabilities in the Optimization Application are obtained from the SCIPY package, scipy.optimize.minimize
  • The optimizer performs several MotionSolve simulations. Data for each simulation is stored in a separate directory.
This is illustrated in the figure below:


Figure 1.

Two examples are extensively discussed in this manual.

  • Path optimization for a 4-bar mechanism
  • Suspension camber vs. ride height curve optimization