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Basic Motion. Basic Motion uses motors, springs, gravity, and so on; it does not use key frames. It includes the Physical Dynamics feature, which deals with the calculation of motion due to collisions.

• Animation. Assembly Motion is now called Animation. Animation uses the key frame method, where the software interpolates between positions established by mates, free-hand drag, or positioning via triad or XYZ values. You should not confuse Animation with dynamic assembly motion, which is simply dragging parts in an assembly with the cursor to create motion.

If you need a function that is only allowed in another type of motion study, you need to change the motion study type in the drop-down selection box in the upper-left corner of the MotionManager. The default option is Animation, and the other two available options are Basic Motion and Motion Analysis. You can see the Study Type box in the interface shown in Figure 23.1.

Remember also that PhotoView 360 has replaced PhotoWorks as the SolidWorks photo-realistic renderer. The interface and functionality of PhotoView 360 is significantly different from that of PhotoWorks. Neither tool is covered in this book, but SolidWorks does produce a step-by-step book, called Creating Animations with SolidWorks Step-by-Step, that users can buy directly without taking a training class. You can get the book from SolidWorks directly or from SolidWorks resellers.

Another method that you can use to capture screen motion to a movie file is by using the Record Video tool (View⇒Screen Capture⇒Record Video). The Record Video tool also appears as a toolbar button on the Screen Capture toolbar. You can use Record Video to record whatever happens in the graphics window, from using the Rollback bar to running Basic Motion studies.

Driving an animation

You can animate the following:

• Distance mates

• Angle mates

• Part appearance (including display modes — shaded, wireframe, and so on)

• Part transparency

• Part visibility

• Part position

• View/zoom state

• Camera position and properties

When you animate colors and appearances, simple colors can fade from one to another, but any appearance with a texture does not fade; it simply snaps to the next texture at the appropriate time. For example, you can fade red to blue, but you cannot fade marble to fabric. This is also true with fading transparency in an animation that is rendered using PhotoView 360.

You cannot animate the following:

• Changing part dimensions

• Changing PhotoView 360 materials

• Configurations

While you can't animate the changing of part dimensions directly, with some creativity, you can animate in-context changes driven by changing mates. You will see an example of creating a part that is flexible later in this chapter.

The items you can use to drive an animation are

• Key points (Animation)

• Mates (Animation, Basic Motion, SolidWorks Motion)

• Motors (Animation, Basic Motion, SolidWorks Motion)

• Gravity (Basic Motion, SolidWorks Motion)

• Springs (Basic Motion, SolidWorks Motion)

• Contact (Basic Motion, SolidWorks Motion)

• Friction (Basic Motion, SolidWorks Motion)

• Force (SolidWorks Motion)

• Dampers (SolidWorks Motion)

The types of motion that are available are

• Kinematic (mates and motors — Animation, Basic Motion, SolidWorks Motion)

• Dynamic (physics based — Basic Motion, SolidWorks Motion)

• Free motion (motion based only on key points — Animation)

When you think of “physics” in SolidWorks, you may need to adjust some of your expectations; some of the tools do not follow real physics concepts very rigorously. For example, a motor applied to a part in an assembly creates a constant velocity instantly, without regard for inertia. Friction only has a single component rather than the static and kinetic, which exist in real engineering problems. You can simulate static friction with a force and an equation, but it is not available as a function of friction.

Planning an animation

It is often useful to plan an animation that is