Part VII: Working with Specialized Functionality
l (^) Basic Motion. Physical Simulation is now Basic Motion. Basic Motion uses motors,
springs, gravity, and so on; it does not use key frames. It includes Physical Dynamics,
which is the calculation of motion due to collisions.
l Animation. Assembly Motion is now 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. Animation is not to be confused with Dynamic
Assembly Motion, which is simply dragging parts in an assembly with the cursor to create
motion.
Another method that you can use to capture screen motion to a movie file is to choose
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, including anything from using the Rollback Bar to running Basic Motion studies.
Formatting output
The MotionManager enables you to make animations within SolidWorks and output movie files as
.avi or a series of .bmp or *.tga still images. You can use it with the default (OpenGL)
SolidWorks display, RealView display, or in conjunction with PhotoWorks to create more realistic
rendered animations.
Note
PhotoWorks will be replaced by PhotoView 360 in SolidWorks 2011. As of this writing, SolidWorks 2010 SP0
is the current version, and PhotoView 360 does not have any capability to be coupled with animation tools in
SolidWorks. n
You can control the pixel size and frame rate of the recorded animation to help control finished file
size, movie quality, and the amount of time it takes to record the animation. You can rotate or fly
through single parts or assemblies. You can make assembly mechanisms move through animating
mates, driving them with motors or manually positioning the parts in space.
One of the beautiful things about SolidWorks animations is that you can save them to an eDraw-
ings file. You can send eDrawings to non-SolidWorks users for review, and the file format is small
so animations are especially size efficient.
Using the MotionManager interface
You can access the MotionManager interface in the lower left of the graphics window. The Model
and Motion Study 1 tabs enable you to toggle the interface on and off. The Model tab shows the
normal SolidWorks interface. You can add tabs to create multiple motion studies. Figure 33.1
shows the lower-left corner of the SolidWorks window with each of the buttons activated. If you
cannot see this interface, you may need to turn on the MotionManager. To do this, right-click on a
toolbar and select MotionManager from the list of toolbars.