SolidWorks 2011 Assemblies Bible - Matt Lombard [195]
FIGURE 23.14
Zooming in to the flexible area of the strap
Animating a changing mate
The next item that this movie will animate is the Angle1 mate. If you expand the Mates folder in the FeatureManager, you will find that it has two folders. One folder is for model mates, and the other is for mates that drive the animation. There is only one mate in the Animation Mates folder, and that is Angle1.
Start by copying the initial key point for Angle1 from 0 seconds to 10.25 seconds. Next, move the timebar to 11 seconds (you can do this precisely by right-clicking the timebar, selecting Move Time Bar, and then typing in the time you want to move it to). Then double-click the Angle1 mate and change its value from 45 to 180.
Make the angle mate change from 45 to 180, back to 45, then 0 then 45 again, with about one-half second for each change. Remember, you can use copied key points to make the multiple 45-degree values. Finish the animation by returning to the original view. To do this, copy the first key point of the Orientation, and then the last key point (at about 10.25 seconds). Figure 23.15 shows the final result.
FIGURE 23.15
The finished timeline for this animation
This example serves as a demonstration of the overall workflow, while the rest of this chapter offers a detailed discussion of the functions that are available.
On the DVD
The sample file, Yoke Link.sldasm, is available on the DVD in the Animation folder, along with a finished AVI file saved out from the assembly.
Animating the View
This section will reintroduce some of the view animation items that you have already seen earlier in this chapter — that is, tools involved in changing the point of view from which the animation is recorded. The first part of the chapter mostly offered a practical overview of the animation workflow. This section will give you a more thorough knowledge of individual tools for changing and controlling the view. You already understand how the tools combine to make an animation; now you just need to know what tools are available and how they work.
View animation is an important and even reusable function. For example, you can save an animation where the only thing that is animated is the view changes in an assembly, and then put any part or other assembly that you want to into this pre-created animation. If you also have your PhotoView 360 settings established (except materials and appearances for the individual parts), you can even create a rendered animation very quickly.
A great example is when you want to show an assembly spinning on its axis (instead of on the axis of the screen as shown in the Animation Wizard); in this case, you can record a camera following a path focused on a particular point. This is a great animation to set up as a template, so that you can reuse it for quick and easy boilerplate animations. (Thanks to Devon Sowell of http://3-ddesignsolutions.com for this tip.) This technique will be covered later in this chapter.
You can animate view changes in the MotionManager in the following ways:
• Orientation and Camera Views (must enabled)
• Using key points (move timebar, rotate model)
• Orientation and Camera Views disabled
• Using key points (move timebar, rotate model, right-click and select Place Key)
• Using the Animation Wizard to rotate a model
• Using any of the above techniques with a camera
• Attaching a camera to a part that moves
• Attaching a camera to a path (use an animation or a walk-through)
• Using a screen capture to record the screen
Driving the view with key points
A key point is a point on the timeline where you tell SolidWorks what state something will be in. For example, at 9 seconds, the view will be a Front view; this is represented by a diamond along the timeline. You can use key points to animate assembly motion, the view, or even properties such as color, transparency, or mate values. Figure 23.16