3D_Mec: An Application to Teach Mechanics

3D_Mec is a GPL-ed application for the solution of problems related to Mechanics. It is specially well suited for the direct kinematic and dynamic simulation of general systems. Is has been used during the last 10 years as a practical complement of the “Mechanics” Bachelor Course in Mechanical Engineering at the Public University of Nabarre-Spain. The main focus of the application is teaching Classical Mechanical principles and their applications. To that end 3D_Mec is constructed over an underlying Symbolic Algebra Kernel that allows the user to express itself in a language that closely resembles that of the mechanics and its level of abstraction. Classical kinematical primitives: Point, Basis and Reference, and set of operators acting upon them; support for vector and tensors, automatic basis change, ... relieve the user from the tedious algebraic manipulations directing his focus at the concept. A set of OpenGL based graphical primitives allow to represent the system and its simulation, and to create clips from them, it also represents a valuable way to check for the validity of the defined vectors and equations. 3D_Mec can also be used as a preprocessor or postprocessor, this is accomplished exporting the defined variables and different sets of equations in the popular language MatLab [3], where the integration or a different problem can be readily made based on well formed tested equations, results can be easily imported back from files containing a temporal series of the different variables. The program is also being used successfully in this way in “Dynamics of MultiBody Systems” PhD. course.Copyright © 2005 by ASME