Batch (Command Line) Positioning

Batch (Command Line) Positioning

A subset of the interactive positioning commands described above are also available in command-line line form. While these can be used interactively the main purpose of them is to enable positioning to be performed in batch mode. These commands will provide visual feedback if the graphical user interface is running, but if it is not ( PRIMER started with "-d=batch" command line option) they will still function. A full listing of command-line commands is given in Appendix L .

The positioning commands are invoked by the [PRIMER >] MECHANISM command, and occupy a hierarchy as follows:

At MECHANISM> level
ASSEMBLY	Select an assembly by name or number, then perform one of the following operations upon it:	FIX dof code Restrain the assembly in degrees of freedom dof code TRANSLATE dx, dy, dz Translate assembly by amount dx,dy,dz RX or RY or RZ theta Rotate assembly to angle theta degrees about x/y/z RESET Undo all dummy transformations and return to initial state DONE Finish with assembly and return to MECHANISM > prompt CONTACT OFF or ON . Turns assembly contact (if defined) on/off during positioning.
POINT	Select a point by name or number, then perform one of the following operations upon it: (Note: moving the point implicitly moves its "owner" assembly.)	FIX dof code Restrain the point in degrees of freedom dof code TRANSLATE dx, dy, dz Translate point assembly by amount dx,dy,dz POSITION x, y, z Translate point assembly to coord x, y, z RESET Undo all dummy transformations and return to initial state DONE Finish with point and return to MECHANISM > prompt
CONNECTION	Select a connection by name or number	SLIDE distance Applies to LINE connections only, and will slide the joint by distance down its AB axis. ANGLE theta Applies to LINE and HINGE connections only, and rotations the assemblies to achieve angle theta (in degrees) about the AB axis.
POSITION	Specify a position name or id	Retrieves and applies the stored position name or id
SAVE	Specify a position id and (optional) name	Saves the current configuration as a saved position id, with optional name .
READ_CONFIG	Specify a filename	Retrieves a free-standing dummy configuration file (the keywords and data between *MECHANISM_START and *MECHANISM_END ). Filename will usually have the extension .mcf
ACCURACY	Specify a value	Global factor on the accuracy of the mechanism positioning process. Value must lie in the range 0.1 to 100.0
ACCEPT	Accept the current mechanism position, save its updated geometry and return to the main [PRIMER >] prompt.
RESET	Undo all transformations and restore the initial geometry of the mechanism, remaining at this prompt level.
QUIT	Undo all transformations and restore the initial geometry of the mechanism, then return to the main [PRIMER >] prompt.

Is a numeric Degree of Freedom code made up of any permutation of 123456, where

1 = Tx, 2 = Ty, 3 = Tz, 4 = Rx, 5 = Ry, 6 = Rz

For example code 136 means restraint in Tx, Tz, Rz

Code 0 may also be used, meaning "free all restraints"

Meanings of terms in the table above
dof code
dx, dy, dz	Is a translation vector, ie a relative movement from the current position, made up of three numbers. For example 10.0 20.0 30.0 means translate 10.0 in X, 20.0 in Y, 30.0 in Z. "Wildcard" syntax is permitted: any number entered as an asterisk ("*"), and omitted trailing digits, are treated as "free" values. For example: 10.0 means translate 10.0 in X, but permit Y and Z to adopt any value. * * 20.0 means translate 20.0 in Z, but permit X and Y to adopt any value
x, y, z	Is an absolute coordinate. For example 10.0 20.0 30.0 means coordinate X=10, Y=20, Z=30. Wildcards as for translations above are permitted
theta	Is an angle in degrees for the given degree of freedom. In a dummy model angles are absolute values expressed in the coordinate system of the connection between this assembly and its parent. In most cases this will mean the system implied by the local axes of the joint stiffness definition at the joint.