How Do You Make a Motion Animation in SolidWorks?

by

Motion animations in SolidWorks allow you to bring your designs to life by simulating movement and behavior. Whether you want to showcase the functionality of a mechanical component or create an eye-catching presentation, motion animations can be a powerful tool. In this tutorial, we will explore the steps involved in creating a motion animation in SolidWorks.

Step 1: Setting up the Animation

To begin, open your SolidWorks assembly file and ensure that all the components and constraints necessary for the animation are in place. It’s important to have a clear understanding of how your design should move before proceeding.

Tip: Before starting the animation process, it’s a good practice to save your assembly with a new name to avoid any accidental changes or overwriting of your original file.

Step 1.1: Applying Appearances

Before setting up the motion animation, let’s enhance the visual appeal of our components by applying appearances. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Select one or more components by holding down the Ctrl key while clicking on them.
  2. In the PropertyManager on the right side of the screen, click on “Appearances.”
  3. Browse through the appearances library and select one that suits your design. You can customize colors, textures, and other properties as desired.

Step 1.2: Applying Explode Animation (Optional)

If you want to add an explosion effect to your animation, SolidWorks provides an easy way to achieve this. Here’s how:

  1. In the Assembly tab, click on “Exploded View.”
  2. Select individual components or sub-assemblies you want to explode.
  3. Drag the selected components along the desired directions to create an exploded view.
  4. Adjust the distance and rotation of each component to achieve the desired effect.

Step 2: Defining Motion Study

Now that we have set up our assembly and applied appearances or explosion effects, it’s time to define a motion study to animate our design. Follow these steps:

  1. In the MotionManager tab, click on “Motion Study” to open the Motion Study PropertyManager.
  2. In the PropertyManager, click on “New Motion Study” and select “Basic Motion. “
  3. The Basic Motion study will be created with a default name.

    You can rename it by right-clicking on it in the MotionManager tree and selecting “Rename. “

Step 2.1: Adding Keyframes

To animate your assembly, you need to add keyframes at specific time intervals. Keyframes define the positions and orientations of components at different points in time. Here’s how you can add keyframes:

  1. Select a component or sub-assembly that you want to move or rotate.
  2. In the Animation tab, click on “Keyframe” to insert a keyframe at the current time position.
  3. Use drag handles or input precise values in the PropertyManager to adjust the position, orientation, or any other parameter of the selected component.
  4. Move forward in time using the timeline slider and insert additional keyframes as needed. Make necessary adjustments in each keyframe to create smooth motion transitions.

Step 2.2: Defining Physical Properties (Optional)

If you want to add physical properties like gravity, contact, or other forces to your animation, SolidWorks provides tools for that. Here’s how you can define physical properties:

  1. In the MotionManager tab, click on “Physical Dynamics” to open the Physical Dynamics PropertyManager.
  2. Select components or sub-assemblies on which you want to apply physical properties.
  3. In the PropertyManager, choose from various options like gravity, friction, and contact to simulate real-world effects.

Step 3: Playing and Rendering the Animation

Once you have defined your motion study with keyframes and optional physical properties, it’s time to play and render your animation. Follow these steps:

  1. In the MotionManager tab, click on “Animation Playback” to preview your animation in real-time.
  2. Make adjustments as necessary by modifying keyframes or physical properties until you are satisfied with the result.
  3. To render a high-quality version of your animation for presentations or sharing purposes, go to the MotionManager tab and click on “Create Animation.” Follow the prompts in the Save Animation dialog box to specify settings like file format, resolution, and frame rate.

Note: The rendering process may take some time depending on the complexity of your design and desired settings. Be patient and let SolidWorks generate a stunning animation for you!

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have explored the process of creating a motion animation in SolidWorks. By following these steps and utilizing SolidWorks’ powerful tools for motion study and visualization, you can bring your designs to life in an engaging and realistic way. Get creative with different animations and effects to captivate your audience and effectively communicate the functionality of your designs.