SimMechanics | ![]() ![]() |
Library
Description
The Body Actuator block actuates a Body block with a generalized force signal, representing a force/torque applied to the body:
The generalized force is a function of time specified by a Simulink input signal. This signal can be any Simulink signal, including a signal feedback from a Sensor block.
The Body Actuator applies the actuation signal in the reference coordinate system (CS) specified in the block dialog box.
The inport is the Simulink input signal. The output is the Connector Port you connect to the Body block you want to actuate.
You should carefully distinguish the Body Actuator from the Driver blocks:
Other Ways to Actuate Bodies
The Body Actuator block actuates a Body with force/torque signals only. To actuate a Body with motion signals or initial conditions, or to drive the relative degrees of freedom between a pair of Bodies, see Actuating a Joint and Joint Actuator Example: Body Driver.
The mech_body_driver
model from the Demos library shows how to drive the relative DoFs between a pair of bodies. To actuate one body alone, use this model and replace the second Body block with a Ground block. To set body initial conditions, replace the second Body block with a Ground block and the Joint Actuators with Joint Initial Condition Actuators.
Dialog Box and Parameters
The dialog box has one active area, Actuation.
Actuation
Local (Body CS)
to which the Actuator is connected or the default Absolute (
World)
.Here is a Body Actuator connected to a Body:
You must connect the Body Actuator to the Body at one of that Body's attached Body CSs, at the corresponding Body CS Port. The actuation signal acts on the Body at that Body CS's origin.
Generalized Forces
You can apply a force, a torque, or both generalized forces to a body.
If you apply both, you need to bundle the torque and force vectors into a 6-component signal, in the order shown in the dialog box.
N-m
(Newton-meters).N
(Newtons).See Also
Body, Body Sensor, Driver Actuator, Joint Actuator, Joint Initial Condition Actuator
See Actuating a Joint and Joint Actuator Example: Body Driver.
See Creating Bodies and Grounds and Creating Constraints and Drivers.
In Simulink, see the Signal Routing Library and the Sources Library.
![]() | Body | Body Sensor | ![]() |