Animating Assemblies in

Inventor:
Applications in MAE3
Dor Ashur
Dr. Nathan Delson
Lecture Overview
Review of Constraints
Animation Basics
Two methods to specify animation movement
Recording an animation
Constraints Basics
Constraints can be made between any two of the
following:
Face (Origin plane, flat, curved or cylindrical)
Edge (straight, round or circle)
Point
2 Constraints cannot conflict
You may need to re-constrain your assembly to correctly
animate your parts.
Constraints Animation Basics Animation Methods Recording Animation
Types of Constraints
Mate
Flush
Angle
Tangent
Insert
Constraints Animation Basics Animation Methods Recording Animation
Animations In Inventor
Simple Animations Driving Constraints
Drive a single DOF within an assembly
Complex Animations - Inventor Animation Studio
Creates sequence of motion events in a timeline.
Required to animate complete robot
Constraints Animation Basics Animation Methods Recording Animation
Animation Overview
Make sure your assembly is properly constrained
Test the animation a constraint : Right click Drive Constraint
Open Inventor Studio : Applications Menu
Animate Constraint :
Control the change in offset
Animate Components :
Control the change in coordinates
Save your animation
Constraints Animation Basics Animation Methods Recording Animation
Driving Constraints
(Right click on the constraint and choose Drive
Constraint)
Use Drive Constraints while still in the assembly mode,
as a test run for animating one constraint.
Constraints Animation Basics Animation Methods Recording Animation
Inventor Studio
Screen Shot
To Access Inventor Animation Studio:
Applications Inventor Studio
Part
Tree
Animation Timeline
Action Editor
Constraints Animation Basics Animation Methods Recording Animation
Animate
Components
Animate
Constraints
Simple Tutorial
Animating with Inventor Studio tutorials can also be
accessed through the Getting Started page under Try
it Tutorials
Animation Methods in
Inventor Studio
Animating
Constraints
Change the offset of a
constraint over a set
time.
Ex: Angle constraint goes
from 0 to 90 in 5 second.
Animating
Components
Free Motion
Change the x, y, z and
rotational components
over a set time
Ex: Ball moves +5 in the
y-axis and - 4 in the z-axis
in 1 second.
Constraints Animation Basics Animation Methods Recording Animation
Animating Constraints
Procedure
Inventor Animation Studio allows you to drive
multiple constraints at once
Right click on the constraint and choose Animate
Constraint
Specify:
End Position
Start Time
End Time
Use the timeline and action editor to easily edit actions
Constraints Animation Basics Animation Methods Recording Animation
Options:
Drive Constraint
Enable Constraint
Suppress Constraint
Animating Components
Example of Ball Launching
1. In Inventor Studio choose Animate Components.
2. Select the object you want to move and click on Position
Input the x, y z coordinates by:
Clicking on the axis, plane or black ball to input 1, 2 or 3 coordinates
respectively
or
Clicking and dragging
on an axis.
Input the rotation coordinates about the x, y and z axis by:
Clicking on that axis and entering the rotation angle, or dragging the
mouse through that rotation angle.
Constraints Animation Basics Animation Methods Recording Animation
Recording Animation to .Avi file
Maximum file size for MAE3 animation and presentation is
100 MB (they will be posted on the web), maximum
length is 10 sec.
Avoid Rendering these beautiful images are hard disk
hogs!
Lower the frame or the compression ratio to decrease the
size if needed.
Constraints Animation Basics Animation Methods Recording Animation
Animation Overview
Make sure your assembly is properly constrained
Test the animation a constraint : Right click Drive Constraint
Open Inventor Studio : Applications Menu
Animate Constraint :
Control the change in offset
Animate Components :
Control the change in coordinates
Save your animation