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How do you put your motion simulation into your animation?

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Geno678

Aerospace
Jun 23, 2010
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I'm doing an internship at NPS, and my mentor wants me to simulate the motion of a 3D transonic compressor. I know how to do the motion, but when I want to explode it and animate it, it won't allow me to put the motion I made into the animation.
 
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What version of Solid Edge are you running?

If you are V20 and above....
The best way to do this is to define motors in the regular assembly environment (you have both rotational and linear to choose from). Then when you go into ERA you can add the motors to the time line.

Jon

Jon Sutcliffe / Solid Mastermind
The Solid Edge Community. Video training sessions, best practice documents, process maps and interactive training
 
I'm using ST, I think that's the latest version. Is their a way I can create motors without having any gears. I also made some gears and added a motor to them, and added them to my rotor, but nothing happened. Only the gears would move.
 
I meant to say I added the gears to the end of my shaft. And my shaft wouldn't spin, nor would my rotors. Only the gears would move.
 
Yes, you don't need gears to use motors. You would only use gears if you wanted to show one gear being rotated by another. The gears are simply assembly relationships.

Basically just constrain the assembly so that it is able to move in the correct way when you drag one of the underconstrained parts. Then apply the appropriate motor(s) to the part or parts that move the complete mechanism.

The simulate motor command in the asembly env can be used to see if your results are correct.

Then in ERA, activate the timeline, choose edit definition on the motors (bottom left of timeline) and choose the ones you would like to include in the animation.

You can also combine these with the explode animation, appearance changes, motion paths and camera paths.

Hope that helps.

Jon Sutcliffe / Solid Mastermind
The Solid Edge Community. Video training sessions, best practice documents, process maps and interactive training
 
Sorry, probably posted that last one a split second after you did..... I thought you meant you had used some gear relationships.

If you have placed gears and these move but the shaft doesn't then it sounds like the axial align you used when the gear was placed is not locked.

Simply select the gear, then choose the axial align relationship from the lower pane of the pathfinder, then hit the 'Locked Rotation' option on the command bar.

Jon Sutcliffe / Solid Mastermind
The Solid Edge Community. Video training sessions, best practice documents, process maps and interactive training
 
I didn't have gear originally, I just added them because I thought that was the only way to make your objects move. Ok so how do I constrain the assembly so that it is able to move the way I want it too.
 
Thats pretty difficult to say without seeing the exact assembly you have.
Basically though when you constrain parts in an assembky they will need 3 relationships to be fully constrained.

When you want to show a mechanism working you need to leave a few degrees of freedom so that the mechanism works in the correct way. Then as you drag one of the under constrained parts, other parts attached to it move too.

Think of a single cylinder engine.
The crankshaft should be constrained so it can rotae but stay fixed in the block (axial align and maybe a mate)
The the conrod would be axial aligned to the big end of the crakshaft and so on.

Hope that helps

Jon Sutcliffe / Solid Mastermind
The Solid Edge Community. Video training sessions, best practice documents, process maps and interactive training
 
OK, no problem.
First I would not use the motion environment.

I would make sure your transparent part is the main part and grounded so it can't move. I am assuming you don't want it to move in your simulation..... The first part placed into the assembly is always grounded by default. Other wise you need to ground it using the ground relationship.

Then the shaft needs to have an axial align to the transparent part. Make sure it is not locked and can rotate.

Then the rotor and any other parts can be attached to the shaft - make sure their axial aligns are locked. Then when the shaft rotates - they will too.

Then just use the motor command on the home ribbon and apply a rotational motor to the shaft.

Then use the Simultate Motor command to see it rotate.
Take it into Explode Render Animate to render it in a higher quality and simulate again / save avi etc.



Jon Sutcliffe / Solid Mastermind
The Solid Edge Community. Video training sessions, best practice documents, process maps and interactive training
 
I was able to put the motor on, but my parts kept on dissapearing. I did it wrong I believe. I made my transparent part the main part and I grounded it. But it wouldn't allow me to axial align the shaft and the transparent part. I also couldn't unlock the axial aligns on the other parts.
 
If the parts are attached to the shaft with Locked Axial relationships, then all you should need is 1 motor and apply it to any moving part (the shaft is prob best) and the rest of the parts should move due to the locked relationships they have with the shaft.

Jon Sutcliffe / Solid Mastermind
The Solid Edge Community. Video training sessions, best practice documents, process maps and interactive training
 
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