Help with my matlab function.

Is there also a way to make it so that instead of manually entering the ultimate strength of the cable, the function recommends three metal options (bronze, aluminum, or steel). And whichever option the user picks, the function has a preset number for that metal and calculates it.

MATLAB FUNCTION:

function [FB, FC, FD] = CableForces()
% This function determines the force in two cables used to support
% an assigned crate.
clc
close all
clear all
help CableForces
disp('Note: Please enter the coordinates in the form of [x,y,z]!')
B = input('Enter the coordinates of B:');
C = input('Enter the coordinates of C:');
W = input('Enter the weight of the crate in lbs:');
% ultimate strength
UB=input('Ultimate strength of cable BD: ');
UC=input('Ultimate strength of cable CD: ');
dB=input('Cross-section diameter of cable BD: ');
dC=input('Cross-section diameter of cable CD: ');
AB=(pi/4)*dB^2;
AC=(pi/4)*dC^2;
Wrange = input('Enter the range of weights for which you wish to plot F vs W [W_min, W_max]:');
fb = B./norm(B);   
fc = C./norm(C);
fd = [1 0 0];
A = [fb(1), fc(1), fd(1)
fb(2), fc(2), fd(2)
fb(3), fc(3), fd(3)];   
b = [0, 0, W]';   
sol = A\b;
FB = sol(1);
FC = sol(2);
FD = sol(3);
% stress finding
SB=FB/AB;
SC=FC/AC;
if SB>UB || SC>UC
fprintf('\nStress is high. So, cable will break\n')
else
fprintf('\nStress is low. So, cable will not break\n')
end
W = Wrange(1):Wrange(2);
FBg = zeros(size(W));
FCg = zeros(size(W));
FDg = zeros(size(W));
for i = 1:length(W)
b = [0, 0, W(i)]';
sol = A\b;
FBg(i) = sol(1);
FCg(i) = sol(2);
FDg(i) = sol(3);
end
plot(W,FBg,'r--p')
hold on
plot(W,FCg, 'b--p')
plot(W,FDg,'g--p')
grid on
title('FORCE vs WEIGHT')
xlabel('WEIGHT (lb)')
ylabel('FORCE (lb)')
legend('FB','FC','FD');
end

[Star Strider]

I’m not certain what you want to do, however if you want default entries of some sort, the inputdlg function (and its firends) would likely be better options than input.

Answer 1

[Joseph Wilson]

type_of_metal_BD = questdlg('prompt question i.e. Type of metal for BD?','Title of prompt','bronze', 'aluminum', 'steel','steel');
switch type_of_metal_BD
    case 'aluminum'
        UB = 5;
end

Refer to MATLAB documentation for questdlg for style options for the user prompt.

Could use IF statements instead of switch but I'd prefer switch in this circumstance.

[Joseph Wilson]

If you need more than three options use listdlg. questdlg is limited to three buttons.