Version 8.0 VisSim User's Guide By Visual Solutions, Inc. Visual Solutions, Inc. VisSim User's Guide Version 8.0 Copyright © 2010 Visual Solutions, Inc. Visual Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved. 487 Groton Road Westford, MA 01886 Trademarks VisSim, VisSim/Analyze, VisSim/CAN, VisSim/C-Code, VisSim/C- Code Support Library source, VisSim/Comm, VisSim/Comm C-Code, VisSim/Comm Red Rapids, VisSim/Comm Turbo Codes, VisSim/Comm Wireless LAN, VisSim/Fixed-Point, VisSim/Knobs & Gauges, VisSim/Model-Wizard, VisSim/Motion, VisSim/Neural-Net, VisSim/OPC, VisSim/OptimzePRO, VisSim/Real-TimePRO, VisSim/State Charts, VisSim/Serial, VisSim/UDP, VisSim Viewer,and flexWires are trademarks of Visual Solutions. All other products mentioned in this manual are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective manufacturers. Copyright and use The information in this manual is subject to change without notice and restrictions does not represent a commitment by Visual Solutions. Visual Solutions does not assume any responsibility for errors that may appear in this document. No part of this manual may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means without permission in writing from Visual Solutions. The Software may not be copied or reproduced in any form, except as stated in the terms of the Software License Agreement. Acknowledgements The following engineers contributed significantly to preparation of this manual: Mike Borrello, Allan Corbeil, and Richard Kolk. Contents Introduction 1 What is VisSim.......................................................................................................................... 1 The VisSim product family ....................................................................................................... 1 Resources for learning VisSim.................................................................................................. 3 New features.............................................................................................................................. 3 Interactive webinars................................................................................................................... 4 VisSim movies .......................................................................................................................... 4 Sample diagrams ....................................................................................................................... 4 Training ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Quickstart 7 Overview of VisSim environment............................................................................................. 7 Work area.................................................................................................................... 8 Menu bar ..................................................................................................................... 8 Toolbars ...................................................................................................................... 9 Scroll bars and Diagram Browser ............................................................................... 9 Status bar................................................................................................................... 10 Simulating a sample VisSim model......................................................................................... 10 Building and simulating a simple VisSim model .................................................................... 13 Working with Block Diagrams 21 Navigating block diagrams...................................................................................................... 21 Panning and zooming at the current level ................................................................. 21 Moving to different levels......................................................................................... 21 Managing block diagrams ....................................................................................................... 23 Creating new block diagrams.................................................................................... 23 Opening existing block diagrams.............................................................................. 23 Changing the appearance of block diagrams............................................................. 23 Protecting block diagrams......................................................................................... 27 Saving block diagrams .............................................................................................. 28 Adding block diagrams ............................................................................................. 29 Embedding block diagrams....................................................................................... 29 Tracking block diagram progress.............................................................................. 32 Switching between block diagrams........................................................................... 33 E-mailing a block diagram ........................................................................................ 33 Printing a block diagram ........................................................................................... 34 Refreshing a block diagram....................................................................................... 35 Closing block diagrams............................................................................................. 35 Working with Toolboxes 37 Version 8.0 VisSim User's Guide Contents iii Controls toolbox...................................................................................................................... 37 Delay approximation toolbox .................................................................................................. 37 Dynamic systems toolbox........................................................................................................ 37 Electric toolbox ....................................................................................................................... 38 Electromechanical toolbox ...................................................................................................... 38 Fixed point toolbox.................................................................................................................. 38 Hydraulic toolbox.................................................................................................................... 39 Logic toolbox .......................................................................................................................... 40 Oil and gas toolbox.................................................................................................................. 40 Process toolbox........................................................................................................................ 40 Quaternion operation toolbox.................................................................................................. 40 Signal generation toolbox........................................................................................................ 41 Thermal toolbox ...................................................................................................................... 41 Tools toolbox........................................................................................................................... 41 Working with Blocks 43 Types of blocks ....................................................................................................................... 43 Inserting blocks ....................................................................................................................... 44 Specifying block parameters ................................................................................................... 45 Evaluating block parameters during simulation........................................................ 45 Entering block labels................................................................................................. 46 Entering alphanumeric text strings............................................................................ 46 Entering numeric data ............................................................................................... 46 Entering expressions ................................................................................................. 46 Entering complex numbers........................................................................................ 47 Entering matrix data.................................................................................................. 47 Entering macros in file names................................................................................... 49 Using path aliases to reference files.......................................................................... 49 Setting up connector tabs......................................................................................................... 51 Specifying connector tab colors and signal data types.............................................. 51 Displaying signal data values.................................................................................... 52 Adding and removing connector tabs.......................................................................