Maple 12 Sets the Stage for Analytical Productivity

By DE Editors

Maple 12 supports interactive 3D plots and animations.

When Maplesoft of Waterloo, Canada, a provider of high-performance software tools for engineering, science, and mathematics,  released Maple 12 for solving complex mathematical problems and creating rich technical documents, it said it broke new ground in engineering software with “an extensive new feature set.” Maple is offering seamless connectivity to the engineering design toolchain through direct connectivity between Maple 12 and such MCAD systems as SolidWorks and Autodesk Inventor, enabling MCAD users to deploy powerful mathematical capabilities and extend the range of analysis on MCAD models.

Real-World Insight
An important addition to the new release is Maple 12’s collection of Dynamic Systems modeling tools, which are said to be essential in dynamic modeling, control design, and signal processing. These tools add frequency-domain analysis and state space analysis to Maple’s mathematical tool set.

“Maple’s capabilities such as parameter optimization, 3D CAD connectivity, and advanced code generation really bring engineering math to life,”  says Laurent Bernardin, vice president of research and development at Maplesoft.

Maple 12 provides the necessary technology for mathematics and modeling to reduce errors and dramatically increase the analytical productivity throughout the design process, making it essential for streamlining the engineering workflow. The company says that Maple 12, which it claims is already considered an industry-standard in engineering and scientific circles, introduces tools that build upon the company’s fundamental technology platform by offering smart documents and powerful mathematics focusing on giving analysts and engineers new ways to develop sophisticated mathematical models faster and more accurately than ever before.

“Often we forget that the math we’re working with actually has a meaning beyond the numbers,” adds Bernardin. “They represent the real-world systems you’re working with. Maple 12’s intuitive user interface,  combined with the most advanced computational engine available, helps you find this insight.”

Maple 12’s MCAD connectivity adds important analysis capabilities to MCAD systems.

Connectivity to MCAD Systems
In addition to Maple 12’s new ability to connect with widely deployed MCAD systems directly, its knowledge-documentation tools allow engineers to tag designs electronically with rich technical documentation and calculations, integrating design calculations seamlessly into the overall engineering workflow.
Other connectivity innovations include MATLAB code import and translation, which enables the easy migration of legacy code to new Maple documents — and database connectivity allows Maple 12 applications to directly access external datasets stored in popular SQL databases.
The Professional aspect of Maple 12 is said to provide the necessary technology to reduce errors and increase your analytical productivity throughout every stage of the design process. Both a smart document environment and a rich computational environment means that Maple can be fully integrated in your existing workflow.

A new Plotting Guide provides easy access to Maple 12’s more than 150 plotting types.

New Analysis Tools
The new Dynamic Systems package offers a large selection of analytic and graphing tools for linear time-invariant systems, which are essential in control systems development. Plus, new Wavelets support provides easy access to what the company describes as the most powerful suite of wavelet tools in any general-purpose computation package. Wavelet analysis is an important technique in key areas such as image compression and image and signal analysis, complementing classical techniques such as FFT.

New plotting capabilities simplify the creation of complex engineering plots. New plot types include dual axis plots, polar plots, and specialized engineering plots such as frequency domain responses and root-locus plots.

Maple 12’s new polar plots can be created interactively or with commands.

Maple 12’s word-processing tools support the creation of technical documents that combine text, live mathematical calculations, annotated graphics, and images.

Enhancements to the differential equation and differential-algebraic equation (DAE) solvers strengthen Maple’s position in this critical area.

The new Exploration Assistant in Maple 12 allows instant creation of interactive mini-applications to explore the parameters of expressions.

Smarter Documents
Maple’s exclusive Smart Document technology is said to have been greatly enhanced in Maple 12 with improvements to customizable interactive components: Users now have a greater choice in buttons, controls, and other interface tools. In addition, the new Exploration Assistant allows users to create interactive mini-applications to explore the parameters of their expressions instantly.

And for advanced users who develop custom code, Maple 12 includes tools that make Maple scripts and procedures easier to write. The code editor speeds the creation of any advanced application and the final result is easily distributed, attractive, and easy to use.

In the Smart Document environment new embedded components can be included in any Maple document. Users can interact with your application through buttons, sliders, and other point-and-click tools, without having to know how to use Maple. The components, particularly suited to engineering applications, include new dial, rotary gauge, volume gauge, and meter components; built-in radio buttons; the ability to group buttons or check boxes to act as radio buttons; support for actions triggered by clicking or dragging inside a plot component, such as adding an element to the plot at the click location; sliders that support floating-point tickmark values and spacing; and customizable on-off toggle button images.

Maple 12’s new interactive embedded components include dials and gauges.

Maplesoft explains that its “clickable” approach to math,  which uses mouse clicks, menus, and palettes   — instead of the conventional command-line approach still in use by many systems — has been praised by users, who appreciate the overall usability of the system. No wonder Jim Cooper, CEO of Maplesoft, says, “I am confident that Maple 12 will spark greater creativity, efficiency, and effectiveness in design and analysis.”

Cooper sums up the software’s latest enhancements: “Maple 12 offers a bold new set of features ]that] dramatically extend the analytical reach of engineers. Many of the new features truly break new ground and set the stage for great levels of analytical productivity.”

Just after Maple 12’s release, the company announced Maple 12 is now available in Spanish, Brazilian-Portuguese,  Greek, Chinese, and Japanese.

More Languages
Because organizations around the world have applied Maplesoft solutions in technical fields including engineering design,  operations research, scientific research, and financial analysis, the company says its commercial base keeps it at the forefront of the industry. Customers include Allied Signal, BMW, Boeing, DaimlerChrysler, DreamWorks, Ford, General Electric, Hewlett Packard, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, Raytheon, Robert Bosch, Sun Microsystems, Toyota,  and Tyco.

With the intention to increase its global reach — and make Maple more widely accessible to users around the world — Maplesoft just released Maple 12 in European, Asian, and South American languages,  specifically Spanish, Brazilian-Portuguese, Greek, Chinese, and Japanese.
By all accounts, it appears Maplesoft plans to continue enhancing the analytical productivity of engineers and scientists well into the future.

Visit Maplesoft to connect directly to the company’s homepage.

Read why DE’s editors chose Maple 12 as a Pick of the Week.

Visit Maplesoft’s webpage that is focused on Maple 12.

Access the spec sheets and brochure pertaining to Maple 12 Professional.

From Maplesoft’s New Features page, you can take a tour and choose from multiple related resources.

Maplesoft is offering Upcoming Webinars — all these are scheduled for June.

View technical demonstrations of Maple 12 in action.