Animate along a given path

In some cases, you may need to visualize how an object moves in a given trajectory. In IRONCAD we have a whole catalogue of pre-made animation motions, but in some cases you can have your own 2D profile or 3D curve that the object should follow. In the post we'll go through how to do just that.

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Create a guide curve

In this case, we will animate a box that will follow the transport path. Since the box will only move in the X-Y direction, it is sufficient to create a 2D profile. Go to the Sketch>2D-Shape tab and create your curve. We will then project off the edge of the conveyor and offset the curve so that it is centered in the conveyor. Next, the curve will be trimmed to create a start and stop point. If you are not sure how to do this, you can watch this clip:

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Create the animation

To create the animation, we first go to the Visualization tab. Then select your part or assembly and press Add New Path. Under Motion Type, select Custom followed by Motion time where you enter the number of seconds for the animation. Then press Apply. Now you will see a grid, which is the grid for your animation. Here you now select Select Path and then click on the 2D profile. Now deselect the animation path by clicking anywhere in the Scene background. Then press On followed by Play. Watch this clip:

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Customize the animation

In this case, we also want the box to turn perpendicularly along the curve. This can be achieved by changing a setting for the animation. First select your batch or assembly that is animated. Then click on the animation curve to get back to the grid. Now right-click on the grid and select Animation Path Properties. Under Orientation At Type, change to Along Path followed by Ok. Then press On and Play.

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Create an animation along a 3D curve

It is also possible to create an animation along a 3D curve and the principle is exactly as above only the difference is that you choose the 3D curve instead of the 2D profile. In this movie, we use a robot that is defined with locks, which means that we also get a mechanical movement in our animation. Locks are thus not a requirement for making the animation along a 3D curve. Here we use an edge on an existing part and generate our guide curve from this. You do this by selecting the edge (highlighted in green) hold down Shift to select several lines, then right-click on a line and select Create>3D-Curve. Watch the movie below:

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Free training at IronCAD Academy

If you want to learn more about how Animations and IRONCAD work together, check out this film on IronCAD Academy:

https://www.ironcad.academy/tutorial/ovning-66-videoanimering-del-1-2

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