Creating Step Functions

You can create a 3rd or a 5th order polynomial step function to use intervals in the output and input values of physical quantities during the simulation.

This task shows you how to:

See Also
About Functions

Create a Step or Step 5 Function

  1. From the Mechanism section of the action bar, click Function .
  2. Select Step or Step 5 as the function type to create.
  3. In the Physical Quantities section of the dialog box, select a type of quantity for each function value.
    1. In the Independent, x field, select a type of quantity for the input value.
    2. In the Dependent, F(x) field, select a type of quantity for the output value.
  4. In the Definition section of the dialog box, enter a value for each input or output parameter of the function:

    • x0: Value of the independent x quantity at the approximative start of the step.
    • F (x0): Value of the dependent F(x) step height at the start of the step.
    • x1: Value of the independent x quantity at the approximative end of the step.
    • F (x1): Value of the dependent F(x) step height at the end of the step.

  5. Click .
    The function appears in the tree, under the Functions node of the mechanism.

Edit a Function

  1. To edit a function, in the tree, do one of the following:
    • Double-click a function.
    • Click a function and select Edit Feature from the context toolbar.
  2. In the dialog box, edit the function parameters.
  3. Click .