SolidWorks 2010 Bible

Part VII: Working with Specialized Functionality

FIGURE 33.11

Creating a camera path

The path doesn’t have to be perfectly circular; in fact, it might be better if it gets closer to the

assembly on one side, making it rather kidney-shaped.

Note
To greatly simplify this task, you can create an offset plane, and sketch an ellipse or circle on the plane rather
than using the 3D spline. The 3D spline is intended to give you the most control and flexibility. n

The camera will be attached to this spline. You might also want to have a target point for the cam-

era to follow as it goes around the path. I placed a sketch point inside the joint between the Tower

and Arm parts. If the assembly or even a part origin is in a convenient location, you can also use

this as a place to point the camera.

Once the path exists, exit the sketch and insert a new camera. You can insert a camera by right-

clicking the Lights, Cameras and Scene folder and selecting Add Camera. Remember that if the

Lights, Cameras and Scene folder does not appear in the FeatureManager, you can make it appear

by choosing Tools ➪ Options ➪ FeatureManager. Select the Show option. Figure 33.12 shows the

PropertyManager for the Camera.