SolidWorks 2011 Assemblies Bible - Matt Lombard [192]
Using the Animation Wizard
You can use the Animation Wizard to create simple animations. The Animation Wizard accommodates two types: the first is where a part or assembly is simply rotated on the screen, and the second uses an existing exploded view from an assembly. You can combine, reorder, reverse, copy, or move both types of animation sequences within a larger animation.
Creating a rotating animation
To create a rotating animation, first click the Animation1 tab at the bottom-left corner of the graphics window. This opens the MotionManager interface. Remember that you can turn the MotionManager on or off in the list of toolbars. (Choose Tools⇒Customize or View⇒Toolbars, or right-click any toolbar to access the setting for the MotionManager.)
Click the Animation Wizard icon in the toolbar on top of the MotionManager. Figure 23.3 shows the dialog box that appears, where you can choose options that include Rotate model, Explode, Collapse, Import motion from Basic Motion, and Import motion from Motion Analysis. In this example, all options are grayed out except for Rotate model. The model that is loaded does not have an exploded view, or Basic Motion or SolidWorks Motion data.
After you select the appropriate type of animation and click Next, you select an axis of rotation, the number of rotations, and the direction. An important thing to note here is that the X-, Y-, and Z-axes do not refer to axes of the part; they refer to axes on the screen. Rotating about the X-axis is like holding down the right-arrow key on the keyboard. The sample animation that appears in the upper-left corner of the Animation Wizard, shown in Figure 23.4, shows what you can expect. It changes direction if you change the option.
FIGURE 23.3
The first page of the Animation Wizard: Select an Animation Type.
FIGURE 23.4
The second page of the Animation Wizard: Select an Axis of Rotation.
The final step in creating the rotating animation is to determine how long the animation will last, and at what point in the overall animation it should start. Figure 23.5 shows the Animation Wizard page where you can set these options.
Note
Looping is only controlled during playback. The actual animation has a beginning and an end, and so if you want to play the finished movie with smooth looping, you should make sure that the start point and the end point of the animation are the same.
After you click Finish, the MotionManager populates the timeline with key points for the Orientation and Camera Views. Instead of rotating the part, the software rotates the view. It seems like a semantic difference, but when you start working with moving parts in assemblies while changing the view, the difference becomes important. Notice the heavy black line with diamonds in the row for the Orientation and Camera Views in Figure 23.6. Each diamond is a key point that represents a view angle, and the line between the diamonds indicates that MotionManager will interpolate the view between the key points, making the view transition smoothly. You will learn how to create key points later in this chapter.
FIGURE 23.5
The third page of the Animation Wizard: Animation Control Options
FIGURE 23.6
Change bars in the MotionManager
To play the animation, click the Play From Start button or the Play button in the MotionManager toolbar. Note also that you can run the Animation Wizard multiple times to create various sequences within a single animation. You can control the start time and duration, which are added to the timeline. You can also edit the key points and even mirror the path.
Creating an exploded view animation
The sample assembly on the DVD in the Animations folder is named Robot Assembly.sldasm, and is saved with an exploded view. You can use this assembly or create your own. If you use this file, you must first create a new animation