Animation from AutoCad 3DModel

[Anonymous]

Afternoon,

We have recently moved to using AutoCad 3D to create our drawings in. We are a scaffolding firm so create large scale models with a lot of components, but we also provide access using machinery called mast climber work platforms. We would like to created 3D animations of these, showing how they operate up the mast and move the camera around, as a kind of sales pitch video.

Attached below is a link to a video we produced previously in Solidworks, which worked well but not for the large scale scaffolding drawings, hence to move to autocad. Does anyone know if this kind of animation is possible in AutoCad, and if not what the best suite to get these results would be? (i.e Inventor, 3DS max, etc.)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pddngo54tzbv7ft/Double%20Stack%20with%20Trough.mp4?dl=0

Appreciate any help in this as from looking online there is just loads of references to each program and before triailing them all was hoping to get some info.

Thank you.

[pendean]

Inventor is the Autodesk software most comparable to Solidworks, not AutoCAD. Worth field testing for 30-days.

If you only wish to use AutoCAD, you'll probably need to pair it up with 3DSMax.

[Anonymous]

Hi Dean,

Thanks for the info. We're using AutoCad 3D for our general drawings, but our MD is looking to generate some high quality animations and renders for promotional purposes.

Inventor seems to be a lot more related to fabrication and design, whereas 3DSMax would be more for the renders and animation side of it? Would I be right in this?

We would ideally be importing the models we've already created in AutoCad 3D into one of the programs and animating from there.

Thanks again.

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

if your geometry is ready/finished, then 3DS-Max would be the choice.

Insert or reference your drawing into 3DS, do materials, lightning, environment ... ready to render, and then do your moves for animations.

- alfred -

[JDMather]

I would use Inventor or SolidWorks with proper training.

[drjohn]

If you want really easy high-end renders and animation jump on AutoDESK Showcase.

Even Inventor models are improved with Showcase and the learning curve is very short.

The animation is fairly easy but not for a "feature film". Short cuts and renders interspersed gives a good presentation.

Caveat: If you output to Flash it leaves a grey screen at the end of an animation viewed thru IE. 

Regards,

DJ

[jggerth]

Why oh why, in this century, would output to Flash, that buggy vector for extreme malware, be a feature of ANY software.  Even Adobe is killing that applicaiton as unredeemably broken.

[drjohn]

+1 ^

Ask AutoDesk.  I have that issue also.  It almost killed my presentation and almost cost me a few grand in modeling/animation fees.

There is a patch for IE but it has to be done/applied on the user side.  I hate when a website says "load this or you can't watch".

[/whining]

Regards,

DJ

[Anonymous]

Thanks very much for all the info guys, great help. I didn't even know about the Showcase package but from the case studies that looks ideal. Downloading a few trials now to test them out, so thanks again.

Rory

[leeminardi]

I would recommend using 3ds Max to get the most control in the animating of individual objects in the scene, material appearance, camera motion, lighting and background geometry and images.  For ease and efficiency I would model (or just export) the centerline of scaffolding tubing and angle iron.  You can assign a cross-section shapes in 3ds Max (square, round, etc.).  I usually place all the tubing of the same OD to the same layer in AutoCAD and then can easily set the corresponding render thickness after they are imported to 3ds Max.

BTW, 3ds Max would let you merge real pictures or video with your CAD model.

~Lee