SolidWorks® 2010

SolidWorks Motion
MotionManager Prerequisite Lesson

© Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation.

Not for resale.

Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation

300 Baker Avenue
Concord, Massachusetts 01742 USA
© 1995-2009, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks
Corporation, a Dassault Systèmes S.A. company,
300 Baker Avenue, Concord, Mass. 01742 USA.
All Rights Reserved.
The information and the software discussed in this
document are subject to change without notice and are
not commitments by Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks
Corporation (DS SolidWorks).
No material may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for
any purpose without the express written permission of
DS SolidWorks.
The software discussed in this document is furnished
under a license and may be used or copied only in
accordance with the terms of this license. All
warranties given by DS SolidWorks as to the software
and documentation are set forth in the SolidWorks
Corporation License and Subscription Service
Agreement, and nothing stated in, or implied by, this
document or its contents shall be considered or deemed
a modification or amendment of such warranties.
Patent Notices for SolidWorks Standard, Premium,
and Professional Products
U.S. Patents 5,815,154; 6,219,049; 6,219,055;
6,603,486; 6,611,725; 6,844,877; 6,898,560;
6,906,712; 7,079,990; 7,184,044; 7,477,262;
7,502,027; 7,558,705; 7,571,079, and foreign patents,
(e.g., EP 1,116,190 and JP 3,517,643).
U.S. and foreign patents pending.
Trademarks and Other Notices for All SolidWorks
Products
SolidWorks, 3D PartStream.NET, 3D ContentCentral,
DWGeditor, PDMWorks, eDrawings, and the
eDrawings logo are registered trademarks and
FeatureManager is a jointly owned registered
trademark of DS SolidWorks.
SolidWorks Enterprise PDM, SolidWorks Simulation,
SolidWorks Flow Simulation, and SolidWorks 2010
are product names of DS SolidWorks.
CircuitWorks, DWGgateway, DWGseries, Feature
Palette, FloXpress, PhotoWorks, TolAnalyst, and
XchangeWorks are trademarks of DS SolidWorks.
FeatureWorks is a registered trademark of Geometric
Ltd.
Other brand or product names are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective holders.
Document Number: PMT1042-Excerpt
COMMERCIAL COMPUTER
SOFTWARE - PROPRIETARY
U.S. Government Restricted Rights. Use, duplication,
or disclosure by the government is subject to
restrictions as set forth in FAR 52.227-19 (Commercial
Computer Software - Restricted Rights), DFARS
227.7202 (Commercial Computer Software and
Commercial Computer Software Documentation), and
in the license agreement, as applicable.
Contractor/Manufacturer:
Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation, 300
Baker Avenue, Concord, Massachusetts 01742 USA
Copyright Notices for SolidWorks Standard,
Premium, and Professional Products
Portions of this software © 1990-2009 Siemens
Product Lifecycle Management Software III (GB) Ltd.
Portions of this software © 1998-2009 Geometric Ltd.
Portions of this software © 1986-2009 mental images
GmbH & Co. KG.
Portions of this software © 1996-2009 Microsoft
Corporation. All rights reserved.
Portions of this software © 2000-2009 Tech Soft 3D.
Portions of this software © 1998-2009 3Dconnexion.
This software is based in part on the work of the
Independent JPEG Group. All Rights Reserved.
Portions of this software incorporate PhysX™ by
NVIDIA 2006-2009.
Portions of this software are copyrighted by and are the
property of UGS Corp. © 2009.
Portions of this software © 2001-2009 Luxology, Inc.
All Rights Reserved, Patents Pending.
Portions of this software © 2007-2009 DriveWorks Ltd
Copyright 1984-2009 Adobe Systems Inc. and its
licensors. All rights reserved. Protected by U.S. Patents
5,929,866; 5,943,063; 6,289,364; 6,563,502;
6,639,593; 6,754,382; Patents Pending.
Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, the Adobe PDF logo,
Distiller and Reader are registered trademarks or
trademarks of Adobe Systems Inc. in the U.S. and
other countries.
For more copyright information, in SolidWorks see
Help > About SolidWorks.
Other portions of SolidWorks 2010 are licensed from
DS SolidWorks licensors.
Copyright Notices for SolidWorks Simulation
Portions of this software © 2008 Solversoft
Corporation.
PCGLSS © 1992-2007 Computational Applications
and System Integration, Inc. All rights reserved.
Portions of this product are distributed under license
from DC Micro Development, Copyright © 1994-2005
DC Micro Development, Inc. All rights reserved.
SolidWorks 2010 Contents

Contents

Introductory Lesson:
MotionManager
MotionManager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Types of Animations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
MotionManager Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Key Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Change bars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Using the Animation Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Rotate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Explode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Collapse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Free Motion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Move Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Rotate Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Triad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Using Move and Rotate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Reverse Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Drag Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Recording Animations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Motors and Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Working with Motion Studies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Saving Motion Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Visual Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Place Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Interpolation Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
View Orientation States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Using Motion Objects in the Design Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Basic Motion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Simulation Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Using Physical Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Examples. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Tips for Working With Physical Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

i
Contents SolidWorks 2010

Exercise 1: The Animation Wizard and Visual Properties . . . . . . . . . 31

Exercise 2: Using Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Exercise 3: Using Basic Motion 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Exercise 4: Using Basic Motion 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

ii
 Introductory Lesson
MotionManager

Upon successful completion of this lesson, you will be able to:

I Use the MotionManager to create animations.
I Save animations as an AVI file.
I Drive motion using motors.
I Edit the components of the timeline.
I Use basic motion and physical dynamics.

1
Introductory Lesson SolidWorks 2010
MotionManager

MotionManager The MotionManager is a tool used to create animations from

SolidWorks parts and assemblies. It can also work with PhotoWorks to
produce photorealistic animations to add visual impact to presentations
and documents. An animation is like a small movie. It is composed of a
series of frames, or photographic images, shown in sequence to display
motion.

Note This lesson does not include Cameras or Camera-Based Animations.

See Help, SolidWorks Help for information on these subjects.
Some of the key features are:
I Timeline
MotionManager uses a key frame-based interface built into a timeline.
The timeline allows easy access to the key frames, simplifying the
editing process.
I MotionManager Tree
The MotionManager tree duplicates the FeatureManager tree assembly
components and sequence of the assembly. It also includes angle and
distance mates.
I Output
The MotionManager software can output to an AVI or series of image
files.
Types of Different types of animations are used for different purposes. They can
Animations examine the components of an assembly or watch motion driven by an
external source like a motor.

Note The MotionManager was formerly called SolidWorks Animator.

I Animation Wizard
Provides an automated method for converting exploded views and
simulations to animations.
I Free Motion
Using Free Motion allows you to move and rotate components
manually while capturing an animation.
I Drag Motion
Drag components in the assembly and capture an animation (see
Moving and Rotating Components in the SolidWorks Essentials
manual).
I Motors and Motion
Add Motors (Linear and Rotary) and other simulation elements to
force motion of the assembly.
I Basic Motion and Physical Dynamics
A basic motion uses motors to drive the animation and model the real
life situation. Use physical dynamics to model motion and collisions as
key elements of motion as a realistic analysis.

2
SolidWorks 2010 Introductory Lesson
MotionManager

MotionManager The MotionManager is the pane that appears at the bottom of the
Window SolidWorks window when a Motion Study tab is clicked. It is used to
create animations of Animation and Basic Motion.

Type of Study

Filters

Slider Toolbar
Timebar

Tree Timeline

Motion Study Tab Key Point Change Bar

Introducing: The MotionManager interface is a separate window that is used to

MotionManager create and play animations. It appears in parts and assemblies.

Where to Find It I Click the Motion Study 1 tab on the bottom of the graphics area.
Components Components are mapped from the SolidWorks
assembly (*.sldasm) file into the MotionManager
automatically. They include the top-level assembly,
parts, sub-assemblies, distance mates, angle mates
and simulations. A single Orientation and Camera Views
component is also added. Each part and sub-assembly component can
be expanded to show several sub-components: Move, Explode,
Appearance and Mates.
Toolbar The MotionManager toolbar appears above the timebar and includes a
type of study selection, VCR-type controls, playback speed options,
saving options, the Animation Wizard, keypoint controls and
simulation elements.

3
Introductory Lesson SolidWorks 2010
MotionManager

Filters Filters can be used to limit the MotionManager tree by

including only animated, driving, selected or simulation
results.

Note Enable the MotionManager toolbar from Tools, Customize.

Key Points The Key Points are used to control characteristics of the associated
component or view.

Symbol Description Color

General (Unsuppressed) Blue

General (Suppressed) Grey

Not Yet Solved Blue

Position cannot be reached Red

Change bars The Change Bars are used to connect key points and transition
between them.

Description Symbol

Overall Duration, Basic Motion

Orientation and Camera Views

Disable View Key Creations selected

Motor

Driving Motion (can also include

Appearance bar)
Driven Motion (without key points)
Explode

Appearance

Mate (Distance and Angle)

4
SolidWorks 2010 Introductory Lesson
MotionManager

Using the The Animation Wizard is a tool that can be used to automatically
Animation create animations. It is a quick way to generate and enhance an
Wizard animation.
Introducing: The Animation Wizard can quickly create Rotate Model, Explode or
Animation Wizard Collapse animations based on parameters in the dialog.

Note The Explode and Collapse options require that the assembly contains
existing exploded views.

Where to Find It I Click the Animation Wizard on the MotionManager toolbar.

Rotate Rotate creates an animation by rotating the assembly around the X-axis
(screen vertical), Y-axis (screen horizontal) or Z-axis (screen normal).

1 Open assembly.
Open the Launcher assembly with the configuration Explode from
the Animation Wizard folder. Click the MotionStudy1 tab.
2 Animation wizard.
Click the Animation
Wizard and
Rotate model.
Click Next.

3 Axis of rotation.
Click the Y-axis,
Number of
rotations 1 and
Clockwise for the
animation. Click
Next.

5
Introductory Lesson SolidWorks 2010
MotionManager

4 Timing.
Set the Duration to
5 seconds and the
Start Time to 0
seconds. Click
Finish.

5 Animation.
The resulting animation appears in the timeline. The Orientation and
Camera Views feature receives keypoints to mark the changes in the
orientations as the assembly rotates.

6 Play the animation.

Click Play From Start to play the animation from the beginning.
Some animations require the use of Calculate Animation before
playing. See Using Move and Rotate on page 9 for an example.

Explode The Explode option creates an animation

by converting the exploded view
information into an animation. The
sequence and the distances of the
individual explodes is used to create the
movement.

6
SolidWorks 2010 Introductory Lesson
MotionManager

7 Explode.
Click the
Animation
Wizard and
Explode. Set the
timing as
Duration as 10
seconds and
Start Time as 6
seconds to leave
a gap between
animations.

8 Added animation.
The exploded animation is
added after the rotate
animation. The 1 second gap
between it and the rotation
makes it easier to see and
manage. Click Play From
Start to play the
animation from the
beginning.

Note Click the Zoom Out icon in the lower right of the timeline to
compress the length of the animation, or Zoom In to expand it.

7
Introductory Lesson SolidWorks 2010
MotionManager

Collapse The Collapse option creates an animation by reversing the Explode

animation. It can be used with or without the Explode.

9 Collapse.
Click the Animation Wizard and Collapse. Set the timing as
Duration 10 seconds and Start Time as 17 seconds to leave a gap
between animations. Click Play From Start to play the animation.

10 Save and close all the files.

Free Motion Free Motion is applied to components that do not have mates (or the
mates are suppressed). Generally it is applied where dragging and
explode motion are insufficient to describe the path. There are three
basic tools available: Move Component, Rotate Component and the
Triad.
Move Component Use Move Component with the options Free Drag, Along
Assembly XYZ, Along Entity, By Delta XYZ and To XYZ Position to
refine the movement.
Rotate Component Use Rotate Component with the options Free Drag, About Entity,
and By Delta XYZ to refine the rotation.
For more information on Move Component and Rotate Component,
refer to the SolidWorks Essentials training manual.

8
SolidWorks 2010 Introductory Lesson
MotionManager

Triad The Triad is a tool that allows components to be

moved along or rotated about visible X, Y and Z
axes. The symbol contains three arms (arrows),
three wings (plane between arms), three rings
and a single center sphere. Arrows and wings
can be dragged to move, rings can be dragged to
rotate. Right-clicking the center sphere offers
numeric options that are more accurate than
dragging.

Where to Find It Right-click a component and select Move with Triad.

Using Move and This example will animate a bolt being inserted into a hole and turned
Rotate using the Triad. The movement and rotation will be combined in a
single step to simulate the bolt being unscrewed and moved.

1 Open assembly.
Open the assembly Free Motion from the Free
Motion folder. The mates used to locate the
Bolt in the Block have been suppressed.

2 Move with triad.

Move the timebar in the MotionManager pane
to 1 second. Right-click on the graphics of the
Bolt and click Move with Triad. Drag the green
arrowhead upwards a small amount as shown.
Click the screen outside the geometry.
Do not drag the timebar.

3 Rotate with triad.

Right-click the Bolt and click Move with
Triad. Right-click the center sphere, select
Show Rotate Delta XYZ Box and set the
Delta Y value to 90. Click the OK button on
the popup.
4 Calculate.
Click Calculate and watch the
animation. The Bolt moves and rotates
simultaneously. A timeline hatched yellow
denotes that recalculation is required.

9
Introductory Lesson SolidWorks 2010
MotionManager

5 Repeat.
Repeat the procedure of steps 2 through 4 three times, dragging the
timebar to increment 1 second each time, to get one full turn of the
Bolt.

6 Drag.
Drag the timebar to 6 seconds. Using the Triad,
drag the Bolt completely out of the hole as
shown.

7 Rotate using ring.

Drag the timebar to 7 seconds. Using the Triad,
rotate the Bolt with the yellow ring, stopping at
90 degrees as shown.

Tip Use Undo to remove errors in movement or rotation.

10
SolidWorks 2010 Introductory Lesson
MotionManager

8 Drag.
Drag the timebar to 8 seconds. Using the
Triad, move the Bolt as shown.
9 Play.
Click Play from Start . The animation
shows the Bolt being unscrewed, moved out
of the hole, rotated and moved away.

Reverse Path This animation was created to remove the Bolt from the hole because it
was easier to work from the placement in the hole. To generate the
animation of the Bolt being placed into the hole, we can use Reverse
Path.

Where to Find It I Select a set of keypoints and right-click Reverse Path.

10 Selections.
Drag-select the keypoints of the Bolt. Right-click Reverse Path. Play
the animation to see the Bolt move into the hole.

11 Save and close all the files.

Drag Motion The motion of assembly components due to dragging can be captured
by the MotionManager. This type of motion was shown in the
SolidWorks Essentials manual.
General Sequence When you are dragging components to create the animation, the
general sequence is as follows:
1. Drag the timebar to the ending time.
2. Drag the assembly components to their ending position.
This process can be repeated for multiple animations within the same
motion study.

11
Introductory Lesson SolidWorks 2010
MotionManager

1 Open existing assembly.

Open the existing assembly UJ_for_INT from the Drag Motion folder.
2 Open motion study.
Click the Animation 1 tab to open the MotionManager.
3 Drag timeline.
Drag and drop the timeline at the 10 second position. This determines
the length of the animation and when the motion will end.

4 Drag component.
Drag the crank sub sub-assembly by the crank-knob, clockwise less
than halfway around, and drop it. Click Calculate to see the
animation. The animation plays, rotating the crank sub sub-assembly
clockwise. The animation generates colored Change Bars along the
timeline that represent the components and their associated motion.
Some components drive the motion, while others are driven by it.

Note Dragging the component more than halfway around will reverse the
direction of the rotation. This is because the shortest path from starting
to ending position will be used.

Tip Use Play or Play from Start after the animation has been
calculated unless changes require recalculation. You can also drag the
timebar or the slider to a specific time.

12
SolidWorks 2010 Introductory Lesson
MotionManager

Recording Once the animation has been completed and plays properly in the
Animations timeline, it can be saved as a movie. When we record the animation, the
MotionManager will record a series of still images that will be played
back in rapid sequence. These images are the digital equivalent of the
frames of a movie film. To make the animation usable outside of
SolidWorks, it must be recorded in a format compatible with media
player software. Two considerations needed when recording the
animation will be the size and compression. The format used is the
AudioVisual Interleaving or AVI (*.avi). AVI is Microsoft’s Video for
Windows file format, native to the Windows Media Player.

Where to Find It I Click Save Animation from the MotionManager toolbar.

5 Save as AVI.
Click Save Animation
and use the default
names and settings.
Click Save. Click OK
on the Video
Compression dialog.

Note In order to save the video, the animation will automatically play from
the start and record.
6 Video file.
The AVI file is created and stored in the folder specified. It can be
played using Windows Media Player and other media players.

13
Introductory Lesson SolidWorks 2010
MotionManager

Motors and Motors are used to move components in the assembly with a specific
Motion type of motion.
I Linear Motors move components along a straight line path.
I Rotary Motors move components about a selected axis.
Each motor is capable of creating several types of motion.

Type of Motion Rotary Motor Linear Motor

Constant Speed rpm mm/second

Distance degrees mm

degrees and mm and seconds

Oscillating
seconds
displacement, displacement,
Interpolated velocity or velocity or
acceleration acceleration
displacement, displacement,
Expression velocity or velocity or
acceleration acceleration

Where to Find It I Click Motor from the MotionManager toolbar.

Working with An assembly (or part) can have multiple Motion Studies to simulate
Motion Studies different animations using the same components. You can also Delete,
Rename or Duplicate Motion Studies.

Where to Find It I Right-click on a Motion Study tab and select Create New Motion
Study.
I Or, click Insert, New Motion Study.
I Or, click New Motion Study from the Assembly toolbar.

14
SolidWorks 2010 Introductory Lesson
MotionManager

7 New motion study.

Right-click the Motion Study 1 tab and select Create New Motion
Study. Right-click the new tab and select Rename. Use the name
Motors and Motion. Rename the old tab Drag Motion.
8 Add a rotary motor.
Click Motor , Rotary
Motor and select the circular
face of the crank-shaft as
the Component/Direction of
the motor. Set the Motion as
shown. Ensure that the arrow
rotates clockwise as shown.
Click OK.

Tip For more information on motors and other simulation elements, see
Simulation Elements on page 26.
9 MotionManager tree.
The motor is added to the
MotionManager tree as
RotaryMotor1.

10 Play the animation.

Click Calculate to see the animation. The
animation plays, rotating the crank sub sub-
assembly clockwise. The animation stops at 5
seconds by default, slightly less than one full turn.

15
Introductory Lesson SolidWorks 2010
MotionManager

11 Length of animation.
Drag the top level component Key shown below to set the overall time
of the animation. In order to rotate one complete turn, drag the key to 6
seconds to complete a full turn. Click Calculate.

Key

12 Review the animation.

Drag the Timebar or Slider to simulate the animation and stop at any
point (only the Timebar shows the animation in real time). Drag the
timebar to 2 seconds to set up the next step.
Slider Timebar

16
SolidWorks 2010 Introductory Lesson
MotionManager

Saving Motion Motors and other simulation elements (see Simulation Elements on
Objects page 26) can be saved to the Design Library. When needed, they can be
dragged and dropped from the Design Library into the motion study.

Where to Find It I Right-click the motion object icon from the MotionManager
Design Tree and choose Add to library.

13 Add motor to library.

Right-click the motor component and select Add
to Library.
Name the motor RotaryConstant10RPM, select
the motion folder of the Design Library, and click
OK.

Tip Motors and other motion elements share the same *.sldmtnfvt file
extension.

17
Introductory Lesson SolidWorks 2010
MotionManager

Visual The Visual Properties of a component can change across the timeline.
Properties Visibility, transparency, display and appearance can be set to a specific
value at a specific time using a key point. For example, a component
can begin the animation hidden and be shown at the end. The key point
change is based on the position of the timebar.
The chart below lists the display and appearance options available for
components.

Option Sub-Options Description

Hide and Show None Toggles the visibility

of the component
Isolate Dialog Hides all other
components except
the selected one
Change None Toggles the
Transparency transparency of the
component
Component Wireframe , Changes the display
Display Hidden Lines of the component
Visible , Hidden from the Default
Lines Removed , Display set by the
Shaded With Edges assembly
, Shaded , or
Default Display.
Appearance Color or Changes the color or
Texture . texture of the
component

Note Interpolation Modes are used to set the transitions between key points.
See Interpolation Modes on page 20 for more information.
Place Key Keys are placed automatically as the animation is created. You may
wish to add more keys to change and control appearances and
orientations.

Note By default, AutoKey is on.

I Click Add/Update Key from the MotionManager.
I Or, right-click Place Key.

18
SolidWorks 2010 Introductory Lesson
MotionManager

14 Add a keypoint.
Click the Yoke_male component in the tree. Click Add/Update Key
to add a new key at the timeline position.

15 Hide.
Leaving the timebar at the 2 second position, right-click the
Yoke_male component and select Hide. Expand the component to see
the additional bars that have been added. Place the cursor over the key
to see the key settings.

16 Play.
Calculate and play the animation. At 2
seconds, the Yoke_male component is
hidden. Drag the timebar to the 1 second
position and you will see that the component is
already starting to hide. This is due to the
Interpolation Mode, which is set to the
default Linear.

19
Introductory Lesson SolidWorks 2010
MotionManager

Interpolation The Interpolation Mode is used to set the transitional effect of a key
Modes point(s) as it changes with time. The default effect is Linear, providing
a constant rate of change from the current orientation or position to the
next.

Note Interpolation Modes can also be applied to View Orientation

changes. See View Orientation States on page 22 for more information.
Below is a list of the available modes.

Mode Description
Linear Constant rate of change

Snap No interpolation, immediate change

Ease in Accelerating rate of change

Ease out Decelerating rate of change
Ease in/Ease out Accelerating to decelerating rate of change

Consider the transition of one component

from Shaded to Hidden Lines
Removed with different modes.

Ease In/Ease
Linear Snap Ease In Ease Out
Out

20
SolidWorks 2010 Introductory Lesson
MotionManager

Ease In/Ease
Linear Snap Ease In Ease Out
Out

17 Interpolation mode.
Right-click the new key and choose Interpolation Mode, Snap to
have the component hide immediately when the key is reached.
18 Repeat.
Repeat this process (steps 14 through 17) for the
Yoke_female component including the
interpolation. At the 2 second mark, both
components are hidden. The animation continues
to the end with the components hidden.

21
Introductory Lesson SolidWorks 2010
MotionManager

View The Orientation and Camera Views component is standard on all

Orientation MotionManager timelines. It resides below the top level component in
States the MotionManager FeatureManager tree. It is used to control
manipulation of the view during the animation. View manipulation can
be changed using zoom, pan and rotate view tools.

Where to Find It I Right-click the Orientation and Camera Views icon and
toggle the Disable View Key Creation or Disable Playback of
View Keys options.
Options control how the MotionManager handles changes to the view
orientation of the model. Right-click orientation and camera views to
set the following options.

Orientation and Camera Views State Symbol Description

Disable View Key Creation (cleared) View changes are ignored by

the timeline (default).
Disable View Key Creation (checked) View changes are captured by
the timeline.
Disable Playback of View Keys Disables playback of all
(checked) Orientation and Camera Views
key frames.

General Sequence: When you are manipulating the view for the animation, the general
Recording View sequence is as follows:
Orientation Changes
1. Right-click the Orientation and Camera Views component and
clear the Disable View Key Creation option. The Orientation
and Camera Views icon changes to .
2. Drag the timebar to the ending time.
3. Change the view orientation to the final orientation.
General Sequence: When you are editing the timeline and want to prevent existing view
Suppressing View changes from playing, the general sequence is as follows:
Orientation
Playback 1. Right-click the Orientation and Camera Views component and
click the Disable Playback of View Keys option. The
Orientation and Camera Views icon changes to .
General Sequence: When you are editing the timeline and want to prevent view changes
Preventing the from being recorded, the general sequence is as follows:
Recording of View
Orientation Changes 1. Right-click the Orientation and Camera Views component and
click the Disable View Key Creation option. The Orientation
and Camera Views icon changes to .

22
SolidWorks 2010 Introductory Lesson
MotionManager

19 View key creation.

Drag the timebar to the 4 second position. Right-click the Orientation
and Camera Views component and clear Disable View Key
Creation .

Tip You can access the standard views by right-clicking Orientation and
Camera Views, selecting View Orientation and a view name.
20 Change orientation.
Change the view orientation to Top . This creates a key along the
Orientation and Camera Views change bar. Click Disable View
Key Creation to prevent the saving of any more view changes.
Play the animation.

21 Orientation interpolation mode.

The change in orientation starts at 0 seconds and is complete at 4
seconds, using a default Linear interpolation. Right-click the new key
and choose Interpolation Mode, Ease In . Play the animation.
22 Save and close all the files.

Another Example The following section is another example of an animation where the
motor is applied to one component and that motion affects several
others.

1 Open an assembly.
Open the assembly
machine located in the
Sarrus Mechanism
folder.

23
Introductory Lesson SolidWorks 2010
MotionManager

2 Hide Component.
Switch to the Back
Iso view and hide the
Mount component.
This will make it
easier to add a rotary
motor to the shaft of
the Wheel.

Using Motion Motion objects can be added using a standard drag and drop technique.
Objects in the For example, drag a motor from the design library and drop it on the
Design Library face or edge of the component that it will turn. The motor will be added
to the motion study and can be edited.
3 Drag and drop.
Open the motion study
and expand the design
library motion folder.
Drag the component
RotaryConstant
10RPM to the cylindrical
face of the shaft of the
Wheel and drop it.

4 Edit motor.
Click Reverse
Direction and set the
Motion to Oscillating,
90deg and 1Hz. Click
OK.

5 Calculate the simulation.

Click Calculate Simulation on the MotionManager toolbar.

24
SolidWorks 2010 Introductory Lesson
MotionManager

Playback Modes There are three playback modes available in the MotionManager:
Normal , Loop and Reciprocate .
I Normal (default) plays the animation until the end and stops.
I Loop plays the animation continuously by playing to the end,
starting over at the beginning and repeating.
I Reciprocate plays the animation continuously by playing to the
end, playing in reverse to the start and repeating.

Where to Find It I Click the Playback Mode pulldown and choose Normal, Loop or
Reciprocate.

6 Show component.
Show the Mount component. Optionally click Playback Mode:
Loop for continuous play. Save and close all the files.

Basic Motion Basic Motion enables you to simulate the effects of motors, springs,
and gravity on your assemblies. Basic Motion combines these
simulation elements with SolidWorks tools such as mates and the
MotionManager to move components around your assembly. Use an
assembly that has the mates to support the simulation effects.

Tip The output from Basic Motion can be used in the kinematic analysis
application Motion Analysis.
Note When you record a simulation, the components actually move within
their degrees of freedom according to the simulation elements. The
degrees of freedom are determined by the mates on the components and
collisions with other components.

25
Introductory Lesson SolidWorks 2010
MotionManager

Simulation There are several Simulation Elements that move components around
Elements in the assembly.

Simulation Element Description

Motor Motors move or rotate components based on a constant speed,

distance, oscillating or interpolated motion or based upon a formula.
Linear motors (actuators) move components along a straight line
path, while rotary motors move components about a selected axis.
Spring Springs apply a force to a component. A spring with a higher spring
constant will move a component faster than a spring with a lower
spring constant. Also, a component with a smaller mass will move
faster than a component with a larger mass if acted upon by springs
of equal strength.
Motion due to a spring stops when the spring reaches its free length.
Motion due to motors supersedes motion due to springs. If you have
a motor moving a component to the left and a spring pulling a
component to the right, the component moves to the left without any
pull to the right.
Contact Defines contact between selected components. Select only
components that make contact to avoid unnecessary calculation time.
If you are not certain of contacts, use Move Component with
Collision Detection to determine them.

Gravity You can define only one gravity simulation element per assembly.
All components move at the same speed under the effect of gravity
regardless of their mass.
Motion due to motors supersedes motion due to gravity. If you have
a motor moving a component up and gravity pulling a component
down, the component moves up without any downward pull.

1 Open an assembly.
Open the assembly Nested Slides
located in the Basic Motion folder.
Zoom out so that the full motion can
be seen.

2 Motion study.
Open Motion Study1 and choose Basic Motion from the
pulldown.

26
SolidWorks 2010 Introductory Lesson
MotionManager

3 Linear motor.
Click Motor , Linear Motor
and use the front face of the
Slide1 part to define the
direction and application of
the motor. Set the motion as a
Constant Speed of 50mm/s.
Click OK.

4 Calculate.
Click Calculate.
The Slide1 part
moves in the motion
direction for 5
seconds. The pin on
the part passes
through the slot in
the connecting part
(Slide2) and
continues.

Note In the absence of other simulation elements such as gravity, spring or

contact, there is nothing to stop the linear motion.
5 Contact element.
Move the timeline back to 0 seconds. Click Contact and select all 3
components to be considered in contact. Click OK. Drag the top level
key to about 7 seconds and click Calculate again.

27
Introductory Lesson SolidWorks 2010
MotionManager

6 Motion.
As the Slide1 component moves, it contacts the Slide2 component and
pulls it. When Slide2 contacts Slide3, the motion is stopped by
contact. The animation can be saved as an AVI file.
Tip Although calculation may be slow, using Play from Start after
calculation will be at full speed.

Using Physical Physical Dynamics is a method for visualizing

Dynamics animations in a more realistic way. Expanding on
the capabilities of dynamic collision detection,
Physical Dynamics lets one object act upon
another. When two objects collide, one will move
the other according to the available degrees of
freedom. Physical Dynamics propagates
throughout the assembly. The dragged component
can push aside a component, which then moves
into and pushes aside another component, and so
on. The Physical Dynamics option appears on the
Move Component dialog.

Note Physical Dynamics differs from Basic Motion in that components are
dragged rather than powered with motors. Motion studies are not used
with Physical Dynamics.
Where to Find It I On the Move Component PropertyManager, click Physical
Dynamics.
What is this Thing? When you drag a component with Physical Dynamics enabled, a
small symbol appears on the component. This represents the center
of mass. Physical Dynamics uses mass properties to compute how the
forces acting on a component will make it behave as it collides with
other components. Dragging a component by its center of mass exhibits
different motion than dragging by a point on the component.
AVI Files for The motion created using Physical Dynamics can be captured in a
Physical Dynamics movie (AVI) file.
1. Before moving the components, click Record Video from the
Screen Capture toolbar.
2. Move the components.
3. Click Stop Record Video from the Screen Capture toolbar.
Note You can also take a snapshot of the screen clicking Image Capture
from the Screen Capture toolbar.

28
SolidWorks 2010 Introductory Lesson
MotionManager

Examples In the Physical Dynamics folder are some examples. They are
illustrated in the chart below.

Simulation Element Description

Clock As you drag the minute hand,
the hour hand moves.

Geneva Wheel As you turn the input wheel,

the pin engages and disengages
the slots in the output wheel.

Rolling Balls Drag the individual balls so

they collide with each other.

Limit Mechanism Rotate the cam wheel counter-

clockwise and the Y-shaped
actuating lever oscillates back
and forth.

Bevel Gears Turn the handle on one gear,

and the other gear rotates.

29
Introductory Lesson SolidWorks 2010
MotionManager

Tips for Working There are some things you should keep in mind when you use Physical
With Physical Dynamics.
Dynamics I Physical Dynamics depends on collision detection. It will not
work if the assembly contains interferences. If the item you are
dragging interferes with another component, the source of the
interference is made transparent. Use Tools, Interference
Detection to find and eliminate interferences before using
Physical Dynamics.
I Use the appropriate mates to define the assembly. Highly
unconstrained assemblies are less likely to be successful. Do not
depend on Physical Dynamics to solve everything. For example,
in the Nested Slides assembly, the appropriate mates were used to
mate slide1 and slide2 so they each had only one degree of
freedom. Then Physical Dynamics can be used to handle the
interaction of the pins and the slots.
I Physical Dynamics does not work on assemblies that have
symmetry mates.
I Physical Dynamics can be computationally intensive. Limit the
scope by selecting components in the Selected Items box, and then
clicking Resume Drag. Items that are not in the list are ignored.

30
SolidWorks 2010 Exercise 1
The Animation Wizard and Visual Properties

Exercise 1: Add motion analysis to these assemblies

The Animation by creating animations using the Anima-
Wizard and tion Wizard. Also, make changes to the
visual properties of the components.
Visual
Properties This lab uses the following skills:
I Using the Animation Wizard on page 5.
I Explode on page 6.
I Collapse on page 8.
I Visual Properties on page 18.
I Interpolation Modes on page 20.
Units: millimeters
Procedure Open the existing assemblies Gearbox Assembly and part configs
from the Exploded Views folder and create the following animations
using the Animation Wizard, appearance changes and interpolation
mode options.

Animation for Create an explode followed by a collapse and add other events
Gearbox including color and hide as shown below.
Assembly
Event Start End
Explode 0 5
Collapse 6 11
Color = Housing, Mode = Linear 0 11
Hide = Worm Gear, Mode = Snap 10 11

Animation for part Create an explode followed by a collapse and add other events
configs including view orientation changes as shown below.

Event Start End

Explode 0 10
Collapse 11 21
View Orientation = Top, Mode = Linear 0 10.5
View Orientation = Front, Mode = Linear 10.5 21
Hide = Base Sheet Metal, Mode = Linear 15 21

31
Exercise 2 SolidWorks 2010
Using Motors

Exercise 2: Add motion analysis to this assembly by cre-

Using Motors ating an animation using motors as the driv-
ing force.
This lab uses the following skills:
I Motors and Motion on page 14.
I Visual Properties on page 18.
I Interpolation Modes on page 20.
Units: millimeters

Procedure Open the existing assembly Compressed Air Engine from the
Oscillating Compressed Air Engine folder.

Motor Add a Rotary Motor to the Fly Wheel

component. Use Constant Speed of 50
RPM. Run the motor for 10 seconds.

Components Edit the timeline to gradually hide (Ease out) the Body and Cylinder
components, starting at 2 seconds and making them fully hidden at the
10 second mark.

32
SolidWorks 2010 Exercise 3
Using Basic Motion 1

Exercise 3: Add motion analysis to this assembly

Using Basic by adding basic motion of the limits of
Motion 1 movement.
This lab uses the following skills:
I Motors and Motion on page 14.
I Basic Motion on page 25.
I Simulation Elements on page 26.
Units: millimeters

Procedure Open the existing assembly collision from the Basic Motion 1 folder.

Determine Using Move Component with Motion Study 1 Motion Study 2

Contacts Collision Detection, identify the
components in contact when the
sleeve is dragged forward or back.

Motion Study 1 Click Motion Study 1 and set the motion study to Basic Motion and
model the forward motion of the sleeve.
I Add Contact element and contact components.
I Add Rotary Motor, Constant Speed, 1RPM.

Motion Study 2 Add Motion Study 2 and set the motion study to Basic Motion and
model the back motion of the sleeve.
I Add Contact element and contact components.
I Add Rotary Motor, Constant Speed, 1RPM.

33
Exercise 4 SolidWorks 2010
Using Basic Motion 2

Exercise 4: Add motion analysis to this assembly by

Using Basic adding a Basic Motion of a rotary motor
Motion 2 input.
This lab uses the following skills:
I Motors and Motion on page 14.
I View Orientation States on page 22.
I Basic Motion on page 25.
I Simulation Elements on page 26.
Units: millimeters
Procedure Open the existing assembly Oil Pump from the Physical Simulation
1 folder.

Motion Study Click Motion Study 1 and set the

motion study to Basic Motion.
I Add Contact element and the
four contact components:
G Inner Rotor 2<1>
G Outer Rotor 2<1>
G Pin<1>
G Shaft<1>

I Add Rotary Motor, Constant

Speed, 10RPM to an edge of the Gear,
Oil Pump Driven component.

I Change the view orientation to view

the rear of the assembly, hiding the
Housing.

34