About Model Compatibility Between Apps

You can create and edit a model in Kinematics Design, Motion Design, Motion Analysis, and xMotion Design. Depending on the app you are working with, you can use specific modeling options or commands that are not available in the other apps.

This page discusses:

See Also
Opening Mechanisms and Simulation Elements in Different Apps

Higher and Lower Level Apps

You can use the following apps depending on the modeling context (lower or higher-level):

App Level Modeling Context Apps Description
Lowest level Kinematics simulation
  • Kinematics Design
  • xDesign
  • x3D Design
 Perform a kinematic simulation of an existing model including bodies and joints.
— Kinematics and dynamics simulation
  • Motion Design
  • xMotion Design
  • Creates and adds different motion elements to a mechanism.
  • Performs kinematic and dynamic simulations of the mechanism.
Highest level Kinematics simulation and advanced dynamics simulation Motion Analysis
  • Creates and adds different motion elements to a mechanism.
  • Performs kinematic and advanced dynamic simulations of the mechanism.

Depending on the app you are working in, you can use specific modeling or simulation options or commands that are not available in the other apps.

A higher-level app corresponds to an app that provides you with more advanced modeling or simulation possibilities. A lower-level app is an app that provides less modeling or simulation possibilities than a higher-level app.

You can use a model in an app and in all the higher-level apps. However, mechanisms and simulation elements created in a high-level app can only be visualized in the lower-level apps. You cannot use or edit them.

Compatibility Across Apps

The following elements can be created in an app and opened in a higher-level app to be edited or simulated using more advanced options or commands:

  • Mechanisms
  • Analysis cases
  • Results of analysis cases
  • Simulation scenarios
The level of the elements corresponds to the level of the app used to create them, or to the level of the latest app used to edit them.

Mechanism Compatibility

You can create a mechanism in an app and open it in a higher-level app to edit or simulate it using more advanced options or commands.

For example, you can create and define a mechanism in Motion Design and simulate it in Motion Analysis.

Note: However, if you create a mechanism in Motion Analysis and open it in a lower-level app such as Motion Design, the mechanism is considered as incompatible. It is not possible to duplicate or upgrade a mechanism from a higher-level app into a lower-level app.

To use and edit in Motion Analysis the mechanism and its associated simulation elements created in Motion Design, you can either duplicate the mechanism or upgrade it.

Option Description
Duplicate the mechanism Creates a copy of the existing mechanism in the new app.
Note: You can still edit the mechanism in Motion Design, and you can edit the duplicated mechanism in Motion Analysis.
Upgrade the mechanism Updates the mechanism and its associated elements for them to be correctly defined and simulated in the new app.
As a result, the level of the mechanism corresponds to the level of the new app using the element, Motion Analysis.
Important: You cannot edit the upgraded mechanism in a lower-level app anymore (in Kinematics Design in this case).

When you open a mechanism in a higher-level app (Motion Design or Motion Analysis)than the one used to create it, a mask corresponding to the status of the other mechanisms from the product appears in the tree.

  • : The mechanism was created in a lower-level app. Duplicate or upgrade the mechanism to edit it in the current app.
  • : The mechanism was created in a higher-level app. You cannot edit the mechanism in the current app and need to create a new mechanism.

Simulation Compatibility

You can also open analysis cases in a different app. Depending on the level of the new app, you can either edit or only visualize the results of the simulation.

Level of the Targeted App Result
Lower than the current app You can only visualize the simulation elements and their results in the new app.
Higher than the current app You can either:
  • Upgrade the simulation elements in the new app.
  • Visualize the results of the simulation elements in the new app.

To edit a simulation in a higher-level app, analysis cases must be associated with mechanisms compatible in the higher-level app. If the mechanism associated with the simulation element is incompatible (created or edited for the last time in a lower-level app), you must upgrade it or duplicate it in the higher-level app.

In the tree, the first analysis case associated with a compatible mechanism is defined as active. If the analysis cases are not associated with a mechanism, the app creates a new analysis case, associates it to a compatible mechanism, and defines it as active.

Note: If no mechanism is available in the model, the new analysis case is not associated with a mechanism and is defined as active.