Software

MSC ADAMS TKC Add-on developed by Sayfield

Sayfield has developed TKC, an ADAMS/View based environment for the development and storage of User Toolkits. All ADAMS consultancy projects of Sayfield are performed with the help of TKC, and the resulting ADAMS/View model components are delivered to our customers as a dedicated TKC toolkit.

The functionality of TKC is illustrated in a quote from Dr. Ir. Jeroen Breukels, Unit Head Innovations at Allseas Engineering, an active ADAMS customer in the Netherlands.

Within Allseas we have been an avid user of the TKC software created by Sayfield. We have been using this software for many years and in many different projects. TKC gives us the ability to pull in-house developed sub-assemblies from the shelf and quickly build new and comprehensive models.
Furthermore, the ability to create our own sub-assemblies has allowed us to both update and expand the library of sub-assemblies that we have. Working in this way is both fast and flexible. Parameterization allows us to scale and adapt sub-assemblies as we see fit. The workflow is traceable and the data used is managed in a clear way.

For us, TKC goes together with ADAMS. And we almost never use ADAMS without it.

This section contains manuals and tutorials of the TKC backbone functionality and the free TKC version called ASim_Project. Also, you'll find an explanation of the conversion of ADAMS models to the Real-Time MB-Software CM-Labs Vortex.

The ASim_Project version of TKC is created to allow ADAMS users to load and use TKC models in a minimized custom environment. ASim_Project is a free version of TKC without the functionality to load and define new toolkits but with the functionality to use the TKC dialogs to modify and store/reload data arrays of existing model components.

To test a number of pre-defined TKC models and check the added model manipulation features of TKC you can download ASim_Project from here.

A screen recording is included to explain the ASim_Project installation process and the main steps. Where applicable, we refer to the remaining TKC screen recordings in this section for more general TKC functionality.

ASim_Project Installation and Usage

Once the overall taste of using TKC is absorbed by trying ASim_Project, you may want to take a look at the full TKC functionality below.

Loading TKC Assembly and Running Design Study

The recordings shown above are a selection of the embedded manuals of standard installations of TKC. For more information, please contact us.

Exporting an ADAMS/View model to CM-Labs Vortex

The export facility of an ADAMS/View model to Vortex is embedded in ADAMS/View as the TKC toolkit A2Vx. In a number of steps, the complete model contents of an ADAMS/View model is exported to CAD files and Python files. Next, the model can be recreated inside Vortex to be completed to a fully interactive Real-Time simulation model. Depending on the size of the ADAMS model, this export process is completed in a few minutes to a few hours in case high-level model adjustments are required. As expected, this export process can be used as a crucial functionality in an engineering project. Thus, simulations with a high-end CAE MB simulation model in an Engineering project are combined with an instantaneous RT check for Hardware-in-the-Loop and Human-in-the-Loop verifications in an immersive environment.

In the example shown below, an ADAMS/View model of an NH90 Helicopter is placed on the deck of a ship driven by prescribed motions. The engineering and simulation tasks are described from an ADAMS/View perspective.

ADAMS Helicopter Model for Vortex Export

By using the A2Vx export facility in TKC, the Helicopter model is exported to Vortex. Using standard options available in A2Vx, the ADAMS model is automatically embedded in existing Vortex scene files for a graphically advanced Real-Time ship and a sea with a changeable sea state.