Mechanism Design and Mechanism Dynamics > Mechanism Dynamics > Custom Loads > About Custom Loads
  
About Custom Loads
Mechanism Dynamics users may need to load their mechanisms with force and force motor definitions of great internal complexity. Examples are tires, aerodynamics, fluids, gravity gradients, pressure of light, combustion, nonlinear bushings, surface interactions, and active control systems.
These sophisticated custom loads are usually produced by a code-writing analyst and are in the form of a Creo Parametric TOOLKIT application. Creo Parametric TOOLKIT is the PTC application programmer's interface (API), which provides a large library of C language functions. You can write custom loads in the C programming language and then integrate the resulting application into Mechanism Dynamics in a seamless way.
The Mechanism Dynamics user neither has to understand the internal workings of these complex loads nor needs to have analyst-like skills to be able to use them. When a Mechanism Dynamics user sees these custom load models, they are packaged in a way that demands little interaction.
Thus there are usually two different communities for custom loads. The first is a code-writing analyst who authors the custom loads and needs a Creo Parametric TOOLKIT license to write the code. The second is a non-programming Mechanism Dynamics user who applies analyst-developed loads to drive mechanisms. The latter type of custom load user does not need the license for Creo Parametric TOOLKIT.
The goal of the following information is to assist you, the code-writing analyst, in producing custom loads that can be successfully employed by Mechanism Dynamics users:
See the links below for requirements for creating custom loads and functions specific to the custom load application.
Look for sample programs and makefiles in the CustomLoad directory of the Mechanism Dynamics installation directory. These makefiles are based on the Creo Parametric TOOLKIT installation test program. The CustomLoad directory also includes a readme.txt file that describes the sample makefiles.