Download and Installation

The Engineering Vibration Toolbox for Python

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Installing the Engineering Vibration Toolbox on Python is as easy as using pip. The easy way to install is to simply type

pip install --user vibration_toolbox

Please see the python manual for more details.

The Engineering Vibration Toolbox for Matlab

Recommended install: download vtoolbox.mltbx from the latest GitHub Release and double-click it (or run matlab.addons.install('vtoolbox.mltbx') from the Matlab command console). Matlab’s Add-On Manager installs it and sets up the path automatically – no admin rights are needed, and it can be removed cleanly at any time from Home > Add-Ons > Manage Add-Ons.

Legacy install: the Engineering Vibration Toolbox can also be installed by downloading vtbud.m and executing it from within Matlab. Executing it after installation later updates or removes the toolbox per user selection.

Warning

You will get an error if vtbud.m is not in your path. Installation of the Vibration Toolbox via the easy method may be broken if you have multiple instances of vtoolbox files installed. If you duplicate or otherwise modify the files, please rename them and move them outside the toolbox folder. If that happens, open vtbud.m in the Matlab editor and press the F5 key.

This will download vtoolbox.zip, expand it in the desired location, and add the path to it to your default Matlab path.

Note

After installation has completed you must delete the vtbud.m file that you saved. The location is listed in your Matlab console.

Alternatively, copy and paste this into your Matlab command console:

»  urlwrite('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vibrationtoolbox/vtoolbox/master/vtbud.m','vtbud.m');vtbud;delete vtbud.m;

and press RETURN.

Warning

If your current working directory is not writable (you don’t own it in the sense of computer security), this line will fail. In that case you need to use the Matlab cd command to change to a different directory or manually download vtbud.m before you run this line.

Warning

Do not store any data or personal files inside the vtoolbox directory. They may be deleted or overwritten.

The current revision status of the Engineering Vibration Toolbox for Matlab can be viewed in the github repository or more easily in the vtbud.txt file on this website.

Troubleshooting

A list of updates since 1/1/98 can be obtained for your current version by typing help vtbud in Matlab. That can be compared to the most up-to-date release.

They will load/run on all platforms supported by Matlab. The binary files are all .mat files, and the different extensions represent different parts of a project group. To load them type:

» load filename -mat

where » is the Matlab prompt. [1] The filename must include the extension unless it is .mat.

If you can’t execute any of the .m files (try for example typing vtbud from the Matlab prompt), they are either not in the Matlab path, or did not get transferred in the correct format (unlikely these days). Use the cd command (like DOS) from within Matlab to move to the vtoolbox directory. If you can see the files using dir, and still cannot execute them, then try transferring the text files again, being sure that they are transferred in ASCII (text) format.

Removing the Engineering Vibration Toolbox:

If you installed via vtoolbox.mltbx, remove it from Home > Add-Ons > Manage Add-Ons. Otherwise, type vtbud from the Matlab prompt.

The Engineering Vibration Toolbox for Octave

Please read the Readme.rst file for information not covered elsewhere.

Installing Octave

Just like Python or Matlab, there are two steps. First, install Octave, then install the Engineering Vibration Toolbox.

Installing Octave on Windows

The availability of a simple Octave installer for Windows has been sporadic. At the moment (11-August-2018) there is one available at the link in the preceding sentence. I do recommend that path when available. When it’s not, Cygwin is a reliable, if more difficult, alternative.

In order to install Octave via Cygwin (Not your easiest method!):

  1. Download and install Cygwin.

  2. You may have to run setup multiple times to install the parts you need. Install, at minimum:

    1. Octave (Math section- octave: GNU Octave language…)

    2. xinit (X11 section)

    3. unzip

  3. Go to the Windows Menu. In Cygwin-X run XWin Server

  4. A green X should appear on the dock. You should be able to bring up a menu to launch Octave

Installing Octave on Mac

Installing Octave on a Mac will take multiple steps. Please see Octave for MacOS. I personally use the MacPorts method

Installing Octave on Linux

Octave is available as a package install on most Linux distributions.

Summary

If you can’t get it to work on Mac or Windows, installing on Ubuntu is easy. So, you can always use VirtualBox and run it in a virtual machine (for free). I do for my testing, so indeed it works just fine.

Installing, Updating, and Removing The Toolbox

Windows Installation

Copy and paste this into your Octave window

system('curl -4 -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vibrationtoolbox/ovtoolbox/master/inst/vtbud.m>vtbud.m')
      vtbud
      delete('vtbud.m')

Note

You must pkg load vtoolbox each time you run Octave if you do not put this command in you ~/.octaverc file. If editing of this doesn’t happen automatically, and you want this behavior, type edit('~/.octaverc') at you Octave prompt to edit it yourself.

Linux and Mac Installation

Linux and MacOS are very similar underneath, so instructions apply equally.

  1. Run Octave.

  2. Copy and paste this into Octave.

pkg install https://github.com/vibrationtoolbox/ovtoolbox/releases/latest/download/vtoolbox.tar.gz
pkg load vtoolbox
vtb
;

Alternatively, you can also download vtbud.m and run it to perform the install for you (copy and paste this at the Octave prompt)

system('curl -4 -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vibrationtoolbox/ovtoolbox/master/inst/vtbud.m>vtbud.m')
vtbud
delete('vtbud.m')

Note: If you download vtoolbox.tar.gz from the latest release yourself, install it with pkg install vtoolbox.tar.gz. Do not use the “Source code” archives that GitHub attaches to each release.

Note

You must pkg load vtoolbox each time you run Octave if you do not put this command in you ~/.octaverc file. If editing of this doesn’t happen automatically, and you want this behavior, type edit('~/.octaverc') at you Octave prompt to edit it yourself.

To update:

To update, run vtbud in Octave. It installs the latest release and does nothing if you are already current.

Otherwise, run Octave and paste the following to the prompt:

pkg uninstall vtoolbox
pkg install https://github.com/vibrationtoolbox/ovtoolbox/releases/latest/download/vtoolbox.tar.gz
;

To remove:

Because it takes so little space (trivial compared to a small Word document), I would suggest simply deactivating it

In Octave

pkg unload vtoolbox

This will hide it but leave it available. You may also want to edit('~/.octaverc') to stop it from loading each time you run Octave.

To remove it completely, in Octave

pkg uninstall vtoolbox
;

You may have to look around and make sure no files vtoolbox.tar.gz, vtoolbox.zip, master.zip, or similar exist.

Why the semi-colons? It’s my way of making sure you don’t leave the last command unexecuted.

Troubleshooting installation:

vtbud was initially buggy and is still quite new. If vtbud isn’t working, please perform a clean install with the following

The first delete is to make sure you aren’t able to run an old version of vtbud.m. The second is to make sure it is updated in the future.

Printing plots

The print command can be used to generate graphics files for embedding into your favorite word processing program. Type help print for details. By default the file used end up in the current directory which is likely your home directory. The command pwd can be used to determine your current directory. On Windows using Cygwin, this might be a bit complex. The file is likely located in C:\cygwin64\home\ username where username is your account name. Alternatively, cygwin64 may be something else similar. I suggest finding this directory with the Windows File Browser and pinning it to the Quick Access area (Windows 10) by dragging it there.

Acknowledgments

Support for the Engineering Vibration Toolbox for Octave has come from a number of sources. First and foremost, Daniel J. Inman, who initially tasked me and Donald J. Leo to write version 3.0 of the software for his text Engineering Vibration by Dr. Daniel J. Inman (Prentice Hall, 1994). I also thank the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Wright State University for providing the computer resources for developing the Matlab 4 version of the software. Perhaps the people who have given the most are my students who painfully experienced every piece of beta code, often at the least opportune times. Thanks is also given to Dr. Maurice Petyt and Robert C. Chiroux For their patience in testing numerous 4.0 beta versions of this software. Finally, John W. Eaton and others for writing/coordinating/developing/supporting Octave. Please see the Octave website for more information on Octave and how you can support its development.

License

The Engineering Vibration Toolbox for Octave is licensed under GPLv3. For professional use with Matlab, users should contact the Engineering Vibration Toolbox author directly for licensing.

Using the Engineering Vibration Toolbox

Typing help vtb#, where # is a number, will provide a table of contents for the files related to chapter ‘?’. Typing help codename will provide help on the particular code. Note that the filename is codename.m.

Engineering Vibration Toolbox commands can be run by typing them with the necessary arguments just as any other Octave/Matlab commands/functions. For instance, vtb1_1 can be run by typing vtb1_1(1,.1,1,1,0,10). Many functions have multiple forms of input. The help for each function shows this flexibility.

Faculty/Instructors/GTAs

Please send comments and questions regarding the Engineering Vibration Toolbox by email to Joseph C. Slater. Please use the vtbud.m function to check for updates (Type vtbud at the Matlab prompt).

Disclaimer and Other Stuff

This site is provided to distribute updates to the Engineering Vibration Toolbox. Joseph C. Slater is the copyright holder of the Engineering Vibration Toolbox. Neither the author, Prentice Hall, nor Wright State University make any warranty with regard to merchantability or fitness for any given purpose with regard to the software. All rights are retained. No permission is given to anyone other than myself, the MathWorks and Prentice Hall to distribute this software in any manner whatsoever. Instructors may distribute this software to students registered for a course using the text Engineering Vibration, and/or alternatively may install the software on networked computers. The only thing I ask is that Engineering Vibration be the adopted textbook for use where the software is installed.

Please send questions or comments about this page to Joseph C. Slater.

Matlab is a registered trademark of the MathWorks, Inc. Mac(intosh) is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. PostScript is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. Unix is a registered trademark of AT&T.