Animation Help

[mikeosborne]

I am new to Navisworks, have been able to create a few simple animations. I am looking for a quicker way to animate a truck driving an off road coarse. Is there a simple way to pick a driving path in navisworks for a vehicle to follow?

[payre]

I don't know if this is an easier way, but it's what I do...
Let me start by saying that if you're after realistic animations of moing vehicles in Navisworks imho forget it. I'm happy to be proved worng but the best I've been able to achieve is a vehicle that "skates" along an ideally smooth path, and I'm pretty sure navis still does not allow a object say to rotate and move at the same time. (ie. a rolling wheel). If I want realistic movement I use sketchy physics (becasue I don't have inventor and find 3DSMax too time consuming)

Ok, so Navis animations - straight lines are easy, key frame start point, key frame end point, translate in between done. The issues start when you want cars to go around corners and keep pointing in the right direction. To do this you need to make sure that all rotation translations enter and exit at tangent points.

Let me explain the process and then how I make it simpler. Lets say for example, you want to show a car doing a U-Turn.
1. To move the car down the road - set the 1st key frame for starting position, move the timeline, use the move translate tool to move the car in a straight line (down the road) and set the 2nd keyframe.
2. To do U-Turn - Move the timeline out (for the length of time the turn will take), use the rotate translate tool to rotate the car 180degrees, set the 3rd key frame.
3. To move the car back up the road - move the timeline, use the move translate tool to move the car in a straight line (up the road) and set the 4th keyframe.

Sounds simple but if your turn arc radius is not centred at 90 degrees from the end of the straight line path of the car coming down the road then the two paths will not be tangential and the car will appear to be moving slightly sideways as it makes the turn. The further from 90 degrees, the more sideways the car will appear because it's orientation is set at the start of the arc. The same is true when the car finishes the U-Turn and heads off in a staight line again, this line must be tangential to the turn arc.

So using these translation tools in a precise way is not that easy. To overcome this I draw the lines, arcs and centre points on a separate layer in whatever authoring software. Then in Navis I can snap my move & rotate tools exactly to these points. To fine tune things you can edit the keyframe by right clicking on it in the animation timeline.

I've writen this from memory while waiting for a render to finish, so haven't been able to check my terminology etc sorry. If anyone wants this process expanded a bit more let me know.

[Revit for Breakfast]

I once did an animation of a telescoping rotating crane in a hangar bay. Unfortunately I can't post it, but I learned that you can animate a lot of cool stuff in Navisworks. If you are trying to make an animation for marketing purposes, definitely save a new copy the project.

[pauljordan]

We have a big crane coming here to Hellizona.. Actually, I think some of it has already arrived. It is being hauled in by train.. 200 cars worth!! I think it'd be a neat Timeliner presentation just to show it being put together!!

[payre]

Hey RFB,

Did you manage to get that crane telescoping as it rotated?

[Revit for Breakfast]

Slightly. For some reason, some families are one object in the geometry. The telescopic arm was one solid piece. I cheated the shot in my video by filming the part twice (two passes, one fast and one slow.)

I animated the scale of the boom, while at the same time rotating, raising and moving the platform.

It was a lot of work for animator but the 30 second shot of the whole area is a real head turner and eye opening.

Attached is a small image (the only one I could find) of the style crane that I animated.

The second image is from Navisworks showing the animator tab.

The complexity of this was a 10, but now it seems like a 3. Put a challenge like this in front of you and watch your skill level rise. This sturff is easy now.

[Teresa.Martin]

Nice! That is a lot of work, but I am sure the final result was well worth it!