Motion Simulation: Dialog Structure

The Motion Simulation dialog contains the following elements:

Dialog Data Areas
Dialog Buttons

Dialog Data Areas

The Motion Simulation dialog contains the following data areas:

Motion Control

This section of the dialog consists of:

Time

Indicates the simulation time (in seconds) and corresponds to the position of the vertical bar in the timeline grid during a simulation.

Speed

This indicates the simulation speed and is a fraction of the real movement speed. This control is disabled during simulation. It can be modified if simulation is not running or paused. Simulation speed values are x0.1, x0.25, x0.5, and x1.

You can manually simulate movement by using the slider. If the Play button is clicked, the slider is disabled, however, it moves along with the simulation.

You can pause, and then drag the slider forward, play again, etc.

Motion Parameters

Define the type of motion to be performed by selecting the option from the dropdown list, and setting its parameters.

Groups List

The list of defined motion simulation groups. This list cannot be edited from the dialog. It is inherited from the Groups Tree tab.

While in collision mode, to the left of each Group name is a checkbox that enables you to mark the whole group to be Considered or Ignored in Collision Mode (checked means Consider). This is the same as marking each item in a group in the Groups Tree with either the (Consider) or (Ignore) icon.

To the right of each Group name is a pin and a color box. The pin is used for locking and unlocking groups.

Lock Group

The group is fixed and cannot move. All motions in the selected row are considered Locked and are colored dark red. The group itself is also colored dark red. The locked icon is displayed.

The lock operation is also available from the Groups Popup Operations.

Unlock Group

Unlock a Locked group. The unlocked icon is displayed.

The unlock operation is also available from the Groups Popup Operations.

The default color of each group is defined in the Preferences; these colors are presented when using the Group Color option.

Timeline Grid

The grid graphically represents a motion of a 'motion simulation group' in time.

The scale in seconds is shown on top of the grid. The default scale span is according to the Grid Parameters definition.

A motion of a (motion simulation) group is represented by a bar in the row corresponding to it in grid.

The bar's left end corresponds to the beginning of the motion while the bar's right end corresponds to the end of the motion.

Any motion simulation group can have any number of bars next to it (i.e., more than one motion along the timeline); however, bars (i.e., motions) cannot overlap per single motion simulation group.

Dialog Buttons

The Motion Simulation dialog contains the following buttons:

This is a toggle button Free Motion / Motion by Collision Analysis that enables you to select the simulation mode.
More:More:

Free Motion: This allows moving the motion simulation groups only based on their defined motions, without calculating collisions between the groups (the calculation ranges dialog is unavailable).

This mode is useful in the early stages of mold design, where for example, they are used to simulate the motion of a slider or lifter, where some components may be missing or some of the components are not cut.

This way you can analyze their motion by creating motions that would normally be caused by physical constraint (in Motion by Collision Analysis mode - see the next option below). You mark them as ignore in collision mode, and when the mold is ready, and you go to collision mode and calculate, these motions will be ignored.

Motion by Collision Analysis: This allows moving the motion simulation groups based on their defined motions, but also taking into account the collision of participating parts. In this way, if one component is moved, all parts which are physically connected to it will also move with it.

This mode is suitable when the designed tool is well defined.

In this mode, Motion Analysis will give unpredictable results unless at least one component group has been locked in place.

Calculate Motions: Calculate all the motions that are not calculated or are calculated but not updated. This option is only available in Motion by Collision Analysis mode.

For additional information, see Calculation Motions.

Interference Check: This is a dropdown list of options for checking interference.
More:More:

	Interference Check: Perform an interference check for each motion simulation group at its current position. Each group is checked against all other groups.
	Hide/Show Results: Hide and Show the yellow figures. It is only available if there collisions were found in the last run.
	Hide Uninvolved: Hide components (not groups, but rather components within groups) that do not have interference. It is only available if collisions were found in the last run.

This is a toggle button Original Color / Group Color that enables you to select in which color the components are displayed while in the Motion Simulation tool:
More:More:

	Original Color: Display the components in the colors as defined in the Assembly Tree. See the example differences below.
	Group Color: Display the components in the colors as defined in the motion simulation table. See the example differences below.

Original Colors example:	Group Color example:

Set Permanent Connections: This option enables you to select various geometrical entities to make connections between motion simulation groups. You can define geometrical relations such as coincident, concentric, and tangent that permanently exist between faces of various components.
More:More:

Permanent connections are useful in cases where a motion simulation group should be directed along a certain trajectory, yet guiding components (such as rails, leading pins, and bushings) do not exist.

For additional information, see Set Permanent Connections.

To exit this mode, right-click in the display area to display the following approval options and select the appropriate option:

Define Considered Components in Collision Mode: This option is used to exclude components from collision detection in order to run a more limited analysis that doesn't involve all components. (By default all components except unassigned and excluded components participate in collision detection).
More:More:

This option interacts with the Collision column in the Groups Tree, but also allows selection from the screen. The selection changes the state in the column.

For additional information, see Define Considered Components in Collision Mode.

To exit this mode, right-click in the display area to display the following approval options and select the appropriate option:

Analyze Collision: This option is only available if a collision was detected. The option is automatically invoked after a Calculate Motions operation, if a collision was detected.

For additional information, see Analyze Collision.

Create Movie: Records the graphic area while the simulation is running. The recording starts as soon as you click Play , and stops when the specified time is reached. Recording is suspended while the motion is paused. The Create Movie dialog is display; set the required parameters and press OK.
More:More:

To set a specific video compression, press the Video Compression button to display the following dialog and select a compressor from the Compressor dropdown list:

Repeat: Runs the simulation again. The Repeat button is enabled only when a simulation is not running or is paused.

Go to Start: Jumps to the start of the simulation.

Previous Step: Moves the simulation one step (as defined in the settings) backwards.

Play Backwards: Starts the simulation backwards.

Pause: Pause the simulation.

Play: Starts the simulation.

Next Step: Moves the simulation one step (as defined in the settings) forwards.

Go to End: Jumps to the end of the simulation.

Settings: This displays a dialog enabling various options to be defined.

For additional information, see Settings - below.

Zoom All: Zoom to display all defined areas of the grid display.

Zoom In: Increases the grid display by 50%. Maximum zoom is about 1/200 of the grid's end time.

Zoom Out: Decreases the grid display by 33%. Minimum zoom is about the size of the grid's end time.

Legend: This displays the Motion Simulation Timeline Legend dialog detailing the meaning of the various motion and range colors.

For additional information, see Legend - below.

Approval Options:

In additional to the dialog specific buttons listed above, the following approval buttons are also displayed:

	OK: Accept the changes, perform the operation, and close the current dialog/task.
	Apply: Accept the changes, perform the operation, and keep the current dialog/task open.
	Cancel: Cancel all changes and close the dialog/task without saving the settings.

Settings

Pressing the Settings button displays the following dialog enabling various options to be defined:

Open Bodies	This is a dropdown list that enables you to select either to ignore or consider open bodies during the simulation.
Time Step	With each time step the motion simulation group moves along the predefined trajectory, while the system looks for collisions, and calculates the group locations. A very small time step may result in long calculation times; a very large time step may result in potentially missed collisions since small features may be overlooked. The default value is 0.1 seconds.
Largest Step	This item calculates the largest distance step created by the time step that was defined (which means – what is the distance traveled in the defined time step in the fastest motion on the timeline). The distance is grayed out and displayed in mm or inch based on the units of the assembly. If there are no motions defined yet, or there are only circular motions, this field is empty.
Create new motions as Consider in Collision mode	This option determines the default for new motions. When selected, new motions will be created as Consider in Collision mode. If this option is checked off, they will be defined as Ignore in Collision mode. The default is selected. This setting is kept throughout the system.
Start new simulation in "Motion by Collision Analysis" mode	When selected, this option determines the default for new sessions (one per assembly usually). The default is selected. This setting is kept across sessions (but only used for the first time for each new simulation unless all saved analyses are deleted).
In Interference Check, take into account only items that are considered in calculation	When selected, only items that are marked in the tree as Consider will be considered in the interference check. The system also considers the checkboxes near the groups in the Calculation mode (taking into account the position on the timeline – meaning the checkbox settings for the relevant range). This is done in both Free Motion and Motion by Collision Analysis modes so that the results are always the same. The default is selected.

Legend

This displays the Motion Simulation Timeline Legend dialog detailing the meaning of the various motion and range colors.

Some functionality may be dependent on the product package. Contact your Reseller if you require a license.