🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Sep22.150058.2642@news.nd.edu> jott@scarecrow.cse.nd.edu (John Ott) writes:
>I am looking for vendors with products that could help me put together a
>hands-on mechanical station for a student controls laboratory (e.g. tinker toys, legos or erector sets).  If you have any experience putting such a lab
>together please share your opinions.  This should be a desk top sized station.
>
>I am trying to find a company that advertised on page 44 of the October 1990
>issue of "Designfax":
>	
>	Automat
>	PO Box 22666
>	Memphis, TN   38122-0666
>
>Thanks in advance.
>
>I will summerize and post any responses.
>
>John
>jott@scarecrow.cse.nd.edu  

You might consider VisSim to model and run your controls lab projects. 
Though our software is most definitely not a toy, it is reasonably
priced and fun to use.  It runs on Microsoft Windows and Unix/X
platforms, is visually programmed through block diagrams, supports
nonlinear dynamical modeling and real-time I/O cards from Metrabyte,
Advantech, Data Translations, and Strawberry Tree. It has an analyze 
option which linearizes any subdiagram and will generate Bode, root
locus, and transfer function info.  We just returned from the Control
Applications Conference in Dayton, Ohio where we demonstrated VisSim
balancing an inverted pendulum. We also interface to the experiments
supplied by Quanser Consulting of Toronto, they make ball and beam,
inverted pendulum, and other real time experiments, but our D/A and
A/D capability will interface to your erector set as well.

VisSim is used at numerous collegiate and commercial sites including
MIT, Boston Univ., Georgia Tech, Skidmore LSU, Penn State, TU Delft,
Univ. Iceland, Univ. Hartford, Drexel, Univ, Colorado, Univ. Puerto
Rico, GE, IBM, HP, Garret Aerospace, Dow Chemical, Milwaukee Electric,
Sanders/Lockheed, United Technologies, Mazda, Ford, GM, Sverdrup,
Dupont, and Draper Labs.  

VisSim should prove to be the ideal software base to model and control
your structure, be it stainless steel or tinkertoy.  I'd be happy to
provide free working demos and product literature to anyone who
replies  to this message.

Sincerely,
Peter A. Darnell
President
Visual Solutions, Inc.
pete@vissol.com