Animation software using solidworks assembly

[billywhizz001]

Hello everyone,

I am wanting to animate a solidworks assembly or part for marketing purposes. What software can people recommmend and what are their merits?

Thanks in advance..

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Is the SolidWorks Animation module not suitable for your needs? I've seen some very impressive animations done with it.

 

[billywhizz001]

I have had a little play with the animation side of solid works and found it a "jerky" but then I am using a 2004 version. And I haven't discovered how you can produce a rendered animation. Plus I've been advised there are better programs for animation..

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Have you checked out the animations at

http://www.solidworks.com/pages/products/SolidWorksAnimatorSamples.html

 

[xRCGx]

If you are refering to the animation itself being jerky, that is just the preview. When you actually go to save the animation it will save at what ever frame rate you specify. As far as the rendering, if you have photoworks enabled then when you save your animation you will have the option to save it using the photoworks buffer.

Karl Kuchs

http://www.wayneautomation.com

SW 2006 SP2.0

 

[Theophilus]

SW 2004 for animation is a bit tough. Lots of enhancements to the interface came along in 2006, with a few more in 2007. Final motion can be a tad unpredictable in 2004 (such as random axial switches, etc. along a path). After SP 1 I've found 2007's Animator to be quite good.

Otherwise, I've been looking into Maxwell as a rendering package, but it seems to have problems plugging into SolidWorks 2007. Maxwell has some sort of animation gig, but the site is a bit cryptic in its overviews of what they've got. Maybe check it out?

Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reason trumps all. And awe trumps reason.

 

[rockguy]

Hey Jeff,

I'm no expert but I think animations in Maxwell are pretty tricky (with SolidWorks anyway). Rendering with Maxwell can produce some amazing results. There is a learning curve however.

I'm in the process of setting up interviews with SolidWorks and Next Limit (Maxwell) for some SolidWorks World blog posts I'm doing. I'm hoping to get both companies to elaborate on their relationship with each other as well as what the future holds for their rendering packages. It should be interesting. Look for them at my blog around SolidWorks World.

http://designsmarter.typepad.com/rob_rodriguez/

Rob Rodriguez CSWP
President: Northern
Vermont SolidWorks User Group

http://www.robrodriguez.com

(updated 8/12/06)
SW 2006 SP 4.0 / SW 2007 SP 0.0

 

[Theophilus]

Thanks, Rob--I'll have to check it out, as I'm very impressed with the images on the Maxwell site--almost as good as my own PhotoWorks stuff. Seriously, it looks amazingly capable.

Hey, have you been able to get the Maxwell plug-in to cooperate with SW 2007 or is that just me? The Maxwell guys didn't have much of a solution for this problem, stating that some stuff in the new SW code is causing the problems. (SW crashes when I select anything from the Maxwell menu within SW.)

Regarding the animation, I haven't been able to play with Maxwell at all yet, but wondered what they had in terms of animation capacity. It almost seems as though a SW model could be exported in STL (or whatever format) for use within the Maxwell animator package, but I don't know what their stuff really requires.



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reason trumps all. And awe trumps reason.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Have you tried disabling the Photoworks add-in before trying to run Maxwell?
Maybe they don't want to play nice together ... sibling rivalry??

 

[rockguy]

On my system you have to load up SolidWorks and the model with the Maxwell add-in turned off. Once SolidWorks is up and running you can turn Maxwell on and things will work normally.

To be honest, the Maxwell/SolidWorks plug-in isn't all that good. You're better off exporting your SolidWorks file (which is done using the plug-in) as an mxs file and using Maxwell Studio to do the work. Maxwel isn't terribly easy to learn and the documentation provided by next Limit isn't that good. My opinion anyway.

I don't believe Maxwell has an actual animation package. Maxwell has the ability to render out scenes one after another automatically and they do talk about how you could create an animation sequence this way but it doesn't work anything like SolidWorks Animator.

I will be asking the question about integration with SW animator during my interview.


Rob Rodriguez CSWP
President: Northern
Vermont SolidWorks User Group

http://www.robrodriguez.com

(updated 8/12/06)
SW 2006 SP 4.0 / SW 2007 SP 0.0

 

[Theophilus]

Thanks for the replies. Yes, the Maxwell folks told me to disable the PhotoWorks add-ins before trying to use the Maxwell add-in (after I told them of the crashing). I tried that and got the same result. Since then, I've applied SP 2.0 and haven't tried it again. Maxwell said they have another plug-in version they plan to release by year-end, so I might just hang out and wait for that. ..or trying Rob's suggestion of exporting into .mxs format to play around (which I'd rather not do in case I need to move a camera or part or whatever). I think the key to adoption is going to lie not only in render output quality, but in interface (PhotoWorks' biggest problem until 2007).

billywhizz001, other than this stuff, I don't know of other animation options. I'd recommend upgrading to 2006 or 2007 if you can.



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reason trumps all. And awe trumps reason.

 

[rockguy]

Studio is a full package. Once you have the maxs file you can add cameras, lighting, move parts, etc. It's like importing your geometry into 3DStudio, etc.

If you are going to apply anything other than a basic material you'll have to use Maxwell Studio anyway. The SW plug-in doesn't support decals .

I'm learning as I go so some of my info may not be reliable

Rob Rodriguez CSWP
President: Northern
Vermont SolidWorks User Group

http://www.robrodriguez.com

(updated 8/12/06)
SW 2006 SP 4.0 / SW 2007 SP 0.0