Defining Kinematics Animation Parameters

When using kinematics animations in a presentation, you can configure (in Authoring mode) a certain number of animation parameters (speed factor, play behavior, etc.) according to the requirements of your presentation. These parameters are applied when previewing or playing the animation.

Note: Kinematics animations (that is, animations of a kinematics simulation) are created with Mechanical Systems Experience. For more information, see the Mechanical Systems Experience User's Guide.

Before you begin: Before inserting a product containing a kinematics animation or a PLM ambiance in your experience, open it in a separate tab using the Advanced Open option. In the Open Advanced dialog box, make sure that you select With expanded children for references, and With all representations for representations. If you fail to do so, kinematics animations will not be listed in the Project panel, and you will not be able to use them in your presentation.
See Also
Creating a Position Variant
  1. In the Project panel, expand Actors > 3D > Your_product > Animations.
    The kinematics animations included in the product are listed.
  2. Right-click the animation to configure, and select Properties.
  3. In the dialog box, set the animation parameters according to your presentation's requirements.
    OptionDescription
    Name Specifies the animation's name.
    Description Provides a brief description of the animation.
    Duration Indicates the duration of the animation, in seconds.
    Speed factor Modifies the speed at which the animation plays. For example, a value of 2 plays the animation twice as fast than its regular duration.
    Play Specifies the following additional options:
    • Bounce: Select to play the animation forward to the end, then backward to the beginning. If Reverse is also selected, then bounce is performed first backward, and then forward. If Loop is selected, then bounce is performed indefinitely until the animation is stopped by the scenario.
    • Reverse: Select to play the animation in reverse mode, taking the other parameters into account.
    • Loop: Select to play the animation indefinitely until stopped by the scenario, while taking into account the other parameters. Clear this option to play the animation once.
    Preview Use the Back, Stop, Play, and Forward buttons to control the animation preview. Use the slider to jump to a particular moment in time. The box to the right indicates the original animation time, regardless of the speed factor.