Jim Boland P.E., CSWP

Creating Animation with SolidWorks

Motion Drivers

What Is Going To Be Covered?

• Basic principles of animations.

• Choosing the right type of Motion Study.

Animation, Basic Motion, or Motion Analysis

• Motion Drivers Physics

−Gravity

−Contact

−Springs

−Friction

−Damping

Motors

−Constant Speed

−Distance

−Oscillating

−Interpolated (2010) / Data Points (2011)

−Segment

−Expression

Keypoint

Animation Wizard

Mates

−Angle

−Distance

−Path

You’ve go to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going because you might not get there. -Yogi Berra

Presentation Goals

• Explore the different types of motion drivers available.

• Explore the different methods to create animations.

• Reduce frustration when creating animations

The tools and principles used are not rocket science.

The UI is similar to other video programs.

• Tools and Methodology

You can learn what the tools do from the Help menu, but not methodology.

Key is to know how to use the tools and what to do if it doesn’t work.

Methodology and multiple approaches.

Right Way vs. Wrong Way.

We made too many wrong mistakes. -Yogi Berra

Presentation Goals

Questions from the SolidWorks Forum

•Why aren’t in-context parts solved in Basic Motion?

•Why do parts overlap when using Contact?

•Why doesn’t contact stop motion driven by a motor?

•Why doesn’t my animation solve when I add a second or third motor?

•How do I animate a robot?

Learning Resources

• Tutorials

• SolidWorks User Forum

• Training classes

• Step-by-Step books

Audience Makeup

• SolidWorks Version

2011

2010

2009 or earlier

• Animation Experience

Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced

Important

We are creating

Animations

NOT

Analysis

What is an Animation?

• We are creating movies

Series of still images played back in rapid sequence

Adjustable frame rates

We are in control, not the viewer

No CG animations

• What frame rate should you use?

Frame Rate Standards:Movies – 24 fps

TV – 30 fps

• What happens if the frame rate is too slow or too fast?

Frame Rate too slow – jerky motion

Frame Rate too fast – jerky motion

(OK, 29.97 for the purists)

3 x 3

The 3 things you need to know

About

The 3 things you need to know

The 3 X 3 Choices

• 3 - Motion Study Types

Animations

Basic Motion

Motion Analysis

• 3 - Motion Types

Kinematic

Dynamic

Free

• 3 - Things You Animate

Components

Properties

Viewpoint

Free Motion and Kinematic Motion

Dynamic Motion

The Basic Rules of Motion Studies

• Mates are solved.

• Parts are rigid.

• Frame rates are adjustable in two places.

• Frame rate means something different in Basic Motion / SolidWorks Motion as compared to Animation studies.

Animations Motion Studies

Animation Motion Studies

How is the motion calculated?

Frame rate drives the solution

Components move directly from one position to the next

At time zero, take a picture

Move the drivers ahead one frame

Rebuild−Solve the mates

−Solve in-context features

Take another picture

Repeat

Basic Motion / SolidWorks Motion

• Used when:

• Physics need to be solved

Physical Properties

• Mass

• Gravity

• Forces

• Contact

• Momentum

• Friction

• Damping

Drivers:

• Gravity

• Motors

• Springs

• Contact

• Forces

• Dampers

• Friction

Basic Motion / SolidWorks Motion Studies

• How are Basic Motion/SolidWorks Motion studies solved?

You have to solve the physics of the model.

Numerical methods using small time steps.

Solvers.

Solver optimization.

• What does the frame rate do?

As far as the solution is concerned – NOTHING

Frame rate determines the intervals when the data is captured for display.

• Important: In-context features are not solved in either the Basic Motion or SolidWorks Motion study types.

Types of Motion Drivers

• Key Points

• Mates

• Motors

• Gravity

• Springs

• Contact

• Force

• Damper

Features

X = Available Function

L = Limit Functionality

Keypoint Animations

• Basic Workflow

Position the Timebar

Position the driving components

Position the viewpoint

Adjust Properties

Record the Keypoint (automatic or manual)

Repeat

Remove the Nut and Bolt

01

Exploded View

• Exploded Views provide a simple method to create a lot of motion.

Create exploded views in SolidWorks

Import into Motion Study using the Animation Wizard

02

Interpolation Methods

Snap

Ease In

Linear

Ease Out

Ease In/Ease Out

02

Mates

• Global vs. Local Mates

• Driving Mates

• Distance Mate

• Angle Mate

• Path Mate

• Driven Mates

• Use Standard Mates with Basic Motion

• Avoid Width mate

• Screw mate for rotation with translation

• Mate Organization

• Mate Order

• Mate Names

• Use Folders

• Sub-assemblies

Mates – The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

• The Good

• Easy to use

• The Bad

• Some mates don’t work (or work well) in animations (Width mate)

• Some mates don’t solve all options (Path mate)

• Some mates better for SolidWorks Motion, others better for Basic Motion

• The Ugly

• Mates sometimes flip unexpectedly and inconsistently

• Problems with sub-assemblies

Mates

• Distance Mate

• Avoid changes in direction and alignment

• Can be done but sometimes solve incorrectly

• Replace global mate with a local mate specifically for the animation

• Angle Mate

• The 100/360 Rule

• Path Mate

• Free

• Distance

• Percent

01

Path Mates

03

The 100/360 Rule

• When using degrees: 0 and 360 are 360 degrees apart

0 and 360 are not the same.

You cannot use angles >360 degrees

• When using percent: 0 and 100% are 100 percent apart

0% and 100% are not the same

You cannot input values greater than 100%

• Difference between keypoints and mates

at these values

04

When an Animation does not solve

If at first you don’t succeed -

Try, try againGive up, why be hard headedTry a different method

When you come to a fork in the road, take it……

- Yogi Berra

Motors

• Motor Types

• Rotary

• Linear

• Motion

• On/Off

• Constant Speed

• Distance

• Interpolated/Data Point

• Segment

• Expression

• Oscillating

• Servo Motor

Motor Facts

• Important: motor force is infinite

• Motors can be used as mates. (Reduces redundancies)

• Motors can have problems across mates

• Must define three things:

What is the motor acting on

What direction is the motor acting

What is the motor moving relative to

• When motors don’t work, the most likely cause is a conflict between motors

Robot

• There are seven motion drivers required

• 6 rotary

• 1 linear

Motors

• Distance Motor

• Angle or Distance

• How far

• Start

• Duration

• Graph

(no instantaneous change)

Motors

• Constant Speed Motors

• “ON” time

• Speed

• Smooth transitions

Motors

05

Interpolated Motor (2010)

Linear

Akima

Cubic

Function Builder

• Used to define the motion by:

Segments

Data Points

Expressions

• Different data interpolation methods

• Provides plots:

Distance

Velocity

Acceleration

Jerk

Data Points (2011)

• Input

• Type in the box

• Text file

• Values

Displacement

Velocity

Acceleration

• Interpolation

Linear

Akima

Cubic

Segments (2011)

• Another way to define curve

• Piecewise continuous

• More interpolation types

• Interpolation defined by segment

Expression

• Predefined functions

Mathematical Functions

Variables and Constants

Motion Study results

• Functions can be saved and reused (*.sldfnc)

Motors

Expression Motion

•Only variable in Animations & Basic Motion is Time

•Can use most VB functions

•There are three forms of time (2010)

• Linear - TIME

• Radians - TIMER

• Degrees - TIMED

•SolidWorks Motion can use other variables

Allowable Functions

ABS ACOS AINT ASIN

ATAN ATAN2 COS COSH

DIM EXP LOG LOG10

MAX MIN MOD SIGN

SIN SINH SQRT STEP

TAN TANH DTOR PI

RTOD TIME IF

Important: In 2010, distance units are Meters, in 2011 distance units are the document units.

05a

The Problem

13

5m

m

20

0m

m

85m

m

35

mm

50m

m

24

mm

The Problem

Desired Video

Camera Lens Equation

• View Angle α = 2 * atan (d/2f)

• For lenses longer than 50mm α = d/f

07

Gravity

• Used in Basic Motion and SolidWorks Motion

• Magnitude error in Basic Motion 2009 and earlier

• Gravity does NOT have to be realistic in an animation, only in analysis

Contact

• Basic Motion and SolidWorks Motion only

• Contact Groups• Friction• Contact Resolution• Contact Accuracy• Differences between Basic

Motion and SolidWorks Motion

Spring

• Used in Basic Motion and SolidWorks Motion

• Spring only shows during calculation

• Spring Constant

• F=kxe

• Linear only in Basic Motion

• Powers of up to ± 4 in SolidWorks Motion

• Error in Basic Motion by one order of magnitude

• Spring damping

• Global in Basic Motion

• Adjustable in SolidWorks Motion

Problem

• What type of Motion Study?

• Animation

• Basic Motion

• Motion Analysis

• Basic Motion

• Spring

• Gravity

Other Solutions

• Oscillating Motor

• Easy to set up

• No damping

• Expression Motor

• Can make the motion anything you like

• Distance = Decay function x Amplitude x Sin (Time)

Combined Curves

Contact and Spring

• Spring for animation vs. spring for visual animation

• Contact properties• Contact Resolution• Contact Accuracy

• Best Method ?????• Animation• Basic Motion • SolidWorks Motion

Friction

• Used in Basic Motion and SolidWorks Motion

• In Basic Motion, friction is determined by material.

• In SolidWorks Motion, friction can be applied at:

• Joints

• Contact

Damping

• Only available in SolidWorks Motion

• Different from spring damping

Force

• Only available in SolidWorks Motion

• Options are similar to those used for motors

• Constant

• Interpolated

• Expression

The Laws of Animations

• Remember: You are creating an animation, not doing an analysis.

• The Law of Simplicity

• The best solution is most often the simplest solution

• KISS principle

• The Law of Diminishing Returns

At some point, more and more effort is required for smaller and smaller improvements

Questions

The End