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In This Chapter

Introducing the MotionManager

Creating rotating and exploded view animations

Animating view changes in the MotionManager

Using key points

Working with Basic Motion

The MotionManager is an interface that enables you to create movies showing motion of parts and assemblies based on a timeline. These movies can range from a simple rotating part to complex moving machinery, involving motion constrained by assembly mates or motion driven by motors, springs, gravity, and contact. You can render the movies using PhotoView 360 or show them in a SolidWorks display mode, including RealView.

Collectively, the results of any of the motion capabilities in SolidWorks are called Motion Studies. Some of the capabilities are more focused on analysis while others involve simple animation for presenting a movie, but all are able to create movie output.

SolidWorks 2011 has three primary methods and two ancillary methods of creating motion in assemblies. The primary methods are

• Animation. This creates simple motion driven by the Animation Wizard, key frames, mates, and motors.

• Basic Motion. This includes motors, springs, friction, and standard mates.

• SolidWorks Motion (analysis). This includes basic motion as well as forces and dampers, and will calculate loads, velocities, and accelerations. This is not part of SolidWorks Standard, but you will take a brief look at it anyway, just to get a well-rounded view of the entire topic of animation and motion in SolidWorks. SolidWorks Motion is an add-in that you must activate in the Tools⇒Add-ins menu, and is only available with SolidWorks Premium or SolidWorks Simulation Professional.

The two ancillary methods of capturing movies are

• Walk-through. This is a summary of preexisting tools paired with a simplified interface for architectural-type walk-through animations.

• Record Screen. This records simple view rotation and dynamic assembly model motion.

Familiarizing Yourself with the MotionManager

If it has been a couple of years since you used SolidWorks Animator to make movies, you may be a little overwhelmed by all of the new terminology. The names do not necessarily reflect the capabilities of the new tools, and you will need to know where the capabilities of one tool end and those of the next one begin.

In addition to the terminology, you need to be comfortable with the limits of the technology that SolidWorks provides in these tools. Your success with the tools depends heavily on having realistic expectations of what you can accomplish with the available tools.

Understanding the terminology

If you go to reseller or user-led events, you may hear these tools referred to by various names. For example, the Animation feature may be called Animator, Basic Animation, or MotionManager. This is the most basic tool available, but even within the SolidWorks documentation and among SolidWorks employees, the naming is inconsistent.

Basic Motion may also simply be called Motion, or COSMOSMotion, or it may even be mistakenly identified as one of the other tools. This tool offers more precise, more analytical motion than the Animation feature and includes some physics-based options.

SolidWorks Motion is an actual motion analysis tool, rather than a simple animation program. Many users may not understand the differences between motion and animation tools, or that different names even exist.

Here's an overview of the terminology used in conjunction with motion in SolidWorks:

• MotionManager. The MotionManager is the interface that gives you access to the Animation, Basic Motion, and SolidWorks Motion tools. This single interface controls all of the tools, which may be the source of the confusion about how different tools are named.

• SolidWorks Motion. COSMOSMotion is now called SolidWorks Motion. It is the most analytical of the three options. If you need detailed input and output including graphed functions, SolidWorks Motion is the best choice.

• Basic Motion. Physical Simulation is now called