SolidWorks 2011 Assemblies Bible - Matt Lombard [200]
FIGURE 23.23
Working around the 100 percent or 360-degree animation limitation
Animating with Key Points
This chapter has already briefly discussed key points to introduce the idea, but here you will learn about how to use them in more detail. You can think of key points as snapshots at particular moments in time. If you say, “At the 4-second mark, the wheel needs to be 3 inches from the wall,” this statement describes a key point. To create a key point, drag the timebar to a new time, and make a change. Any of the animatable items listed earlier in the chapter can create a key point.
Getting started
Consider this easy and useful example: a customer wants you to make a little animation of a holder for a stethoscope that he will show to a potential client in PowerPoint. The holder opens, the stethoscope slides out, and then the animation reverses.
On the DVD
The assembly with the animation saved in it is in the Animation folder labeled scopecozy.sldasm.
The assembly and the completed animation timeline are shown in Figure 23.24. This animation uses RealView display, which the customer has said is good enough for his purposes. This reduces the time significantly compared to using PhotoView 360 to render the animation.
FIGURE 23.24
The stethoscope animation setup
Your first task is to set up the camera. You could do this without a camera, but cameras are a convenient way to store a particular view, along with settings such as lens angle, perspective, camera position, and target. In addition, if you decide to use PhotoView 360 later, cameras are the only way to get depth of field for additional realism. Another advantage of the camera is that you are able to control the area in view more closely. If you don't use a camera, the area of view is just whatever is available in the view port. With the camera, you can specify a size and aspect ratio, and the available area is cropped appropriately.
Because the stethoscope model is cut into pieces to enable different parts of it to be positioned, you need to position the parts and the camera such that the break between the head and earpieces is not visible. Leave enough open area so that when the stethoscope comes out, it will not run out of the area of view.
Note
When adjusting the position of the camera, it is often easier to adjust the actual view than to manipulate the camera. In the Camera PropertyManager, deselecting the Lock Camera Position Except When Editing option enables you to manipulate the view directly. This setting is selected by default and will display the camera with a red X icon if you try to rotate the view when the camera view is on. Switch to camera view and deselect Disable View Key Creation.
Using the timebar with key points
It's a good idea to start animations with some stillness; if you start an animation with motion, your viewer may not have time to adjust. A second is usually enough. Expand the Top part file, click the key point for the Move row at the zero (0) time mark, and Ctrl+drag it to the 1-second mark. This means that the top will not move between 0 and 1 second. Now move the timebar to 2 seconds and open the top by just dragging it up slightly. It should only open about one-half inch.
Now move the timebar to the 5-second mark. You will now purposely create a mistake so you can learn how to correct it. At the 5-second mark, move the stethoscope out of the holder 3 or 4 inches. Try to make sure you do not go far enough that the rubber tube runs into the plastic parts.
Notice that this creates a change bar that shows the position of the scope head part moving continually from time 00.00.00 to time 00.00.05. The motion is supposed to start at the 3-second mark. You can see how to fix this mistake in Figure 23.25.
FIGURE 23.25
Fixing a timeline problem
Click the key point for the