Install the Simscape Multibody Link Plugin

Simscape™ Multibody™ Link is a plugin that you can install on CAD applications to export assembly models to Simscape Multibody. Specifically, the plugin exports a CAD assembly model as an XML file and body geometry files that you can convert into Simscape Multibody models using the smimport function. The plugin supports:

SolidWorks^®
Autodesk Inventor^®
PTC^®Creo™

Software Requirements

Make sure your software meets the requirements:

CAD Software	Release Supported	MATLAB Release	Simscape Multibody Release
SolidWorks	2001Plus to 2021	R2008b and higher	3.0 and higher
Creo	1.0 to 9.0	R2008b and higher	3.0 and higher
Autodesk Inventor	2009 to 2021	R2009b and higher	3.0 and higher

Note

These versions are not supported:

SolidWorks 2022 and higher
Creo 10
Autodesk Inventor 2022 and higher

To use Simscape Multibody Link, you must install MATLAB^® and the CAD applications on the same computer. To ensure the successful installation of Simscape Multibody Link, before launching your CAD application, you must register MATLAB as an automation server and enable the Simscape Multibody Link plugin in the CAD application. For more information, see steps 3 and 4.

Step 1: Get the Installation Files

Go to the Simscape Multibody Link download page.
Follow the prompts on the download page.
Select and save the ZIP and MATLAB files that match your MATLAB version and system architecture, such as release R2023b and Win64 (PC) Platform. Do not extract the ZIP file.

Step 2: Run the Installation Function

Run MATLAB as administrator. For more information, see How to Make a Shortcut to Run MATLAB as Administrator.
Add the folder in which you saved the installation files to the MATLAB path. For example, you can use the addpath (MATLAB) function.
At the MATLAB command prompt, enter installaddon('zipname'), where zipname is the name of the ZIP file, such as smlink-r2023b-win64.zip.

Step 3: Register MATLAB as an Automation Server

Each time you export a CAD assembly model, the Simscape Multibody Link plugin attempts to connect to MATLAB. To enable the connection, you must register MATLAB as an automation server. You can do this in two ways:

Open a MATLAB session in administrator mode. At the MATLAB command prompt, enter regmatlabserver.
Open a Windows^® command prompt window running in administrator mode. At the command prompt, enter matlab -regserver.

Step 4: Enable the Simscape Multibody Link Plugin in a CAD Application

Before you can export a CAD assembly, you must enable the Simscape Multibody Link plugin on your CAD application. To do this, see:

Importing CAD Files from Applications Not Supported by Simscape Multibody Link

To import an Onshape^® CAD assembly model into the Simscape Multibody, you can use the smexportonshape and smimport functions.
If you use a CAD application other than Onshape, SolidWorks, PTC Creo, and Autodesk Inventor, you can create a custom model export application based on the Simscape Multibody XML schema. This approach requires some knowledge of XML. See the schema web page for more information.
You can also create a Simscape Multibody model from a URDF file or Robotics System Toolbox™ model. See the smimport for more information.