Learning Inventor Animation Workflows

[info45]

Hello folks,

My name is Keith, using my boss' account to post here. I have some questions about Inventor's animation capabilities and workflows.

I come from a VFX background, and so I am not an engineer or industrial designer. Nonetheless, I have to learn this program for as long as I have this job. Now, there are tons of tutorials online about Inventor's modeling workflows, but much less on its animation features. I have been able to figure out that there are about 7 types of animation within Inventor:

* Component

* Constraint

* Dynamic simulation

* Joint

* Parameter

* Path

* Presentation (requiring its own file format)

I can find tutorials addressing some of these, but not all. I'd also like to learn about the possibilities of combining these types into one final scene file to render. One online tutor said something about "layering" animation, but I can't find zilch on the subject. 

Can anyone here point me to tutorials that address all 7 animation types AND how to bring them together into one final, rendered scene? 

Much appreciated. 

[kacper.suchomski]

Hi

I'm not a fan of this approach, but I'll try to help you.

The only type of animation that allows rendering high quality images is the rendering environment.

In this environment you can define individual animation steps that have different nature - changing a model parameter, changing a constraint or joinparameter, changing position, etc. 

It all comes down to the parameter, because Inventor is parametric software and the only difference is the context of the parameter.

This entire environment makes it possible to define different animation steps and contexts and combine them into one complex film production.

A scene can be added in two places - in the rendering environment and in the modeling environment (parts and assemblies).

Join and constraint animations are used to show the behavior and verification of individual relationships in the assembly environment.

The same animations can be created in larger groups in the rendering environment.

The presentation environment is a module that allows you to create exploded views.

They are most often used to create assembly instructions, but individual assembly steps can be animated and thus create dynamic instructions.

Dynamic simulation is a powerful analytical environment that can create animations. It is used to analyze motion and forces in a modeled system. It is most often used for calculations and analysis, but the results of these simulations can also be animated for artistic purposes.

In general, these are different environments with different possibilities and purposes.

These are not related items.

They cannot be combined inside Inventor in the sense of classic video editing. Most of them can be done in a rendering environment, but not all (e.g. complex assembly animations are only possible in presentation, and mechanical component reactions only in dynamic simulation).

[info45]

Well, that sucks LOL  But, I appreciate the thorough response. 

It seems though that unless I plan to become an engineer and go back to school, I'm going to be limited in what I can accomplish in this program.

Oh well!

[kacper.suchomski · Accepted solution]

Well, you don't need a degree for that. Learning the program is just one subject at university, and even then it's limited to what you can learn in 10 hours from scratch.

Here you will find instructions for the main animation (rendering) environment.

https://help.autodesk.com/view/INVNTOR/2025/ENU/?guid=GUID-EF52122B-928A-4C68-B93D-2433440A6255

Every time you learn something new it starts the same way.

The goal of Inventor is to precisely and parametrically create products and prepare accurate production.

Which does not change the fact that users successfully create product render & animations in this software.

https://www.autodesk.com/community/gallery/product-design-manufacturing

If your company has a license for a software collection (e.g. PDMC) you can ask your boss for access to 3ds Max.
This program is used to create professional visualizations and animations - it is adapted and designed for this.
If possible, I would recommend learning this software, not Inventor.

[info45]

I'm a Maya guy, with a little Max in his belt. I would LOVE to use Max, but he won't use either since his clients don't. He wants the ability to send them files or open files on their machines that he can interact with. 

(That's another thing: He's mentioned that he'd like to have control over individual sections of a model, and I am not even sure I can fully picture what he's asking, let alone do it in Inventor.)

Oh... and thanks for the links. They may be of some help.

A good day to you sir.

K

[kacper.suchomski]

I guess I don't understand your problem.

Inventor is used for precise modeling of products (consumer, industrial, etc.). The result of work in Inventor are parametric 3D models and technical drawings.

It also has the ability to create basic animations.

3ds max is a specialized software designed to create professional visualizations (static and animation). It also allows modeling, although it will not be as precise as in Inventor.

The joint use of these softwares is not logically mutually exclusive. Both can work together. Both can generate value for the company in parallel - each in its own scope.

The argument about file compatibility for clients is logically contradictory.

When you create an animation you save it in avi, mp4, mov format. There is no room for incompatibility here.

Additionally, 3ds max opens Inventor files.

This is the normal workflow - model in dedicated software and animate in dedicated software.

There is no contradiction here.

When you deliver a product visualization in jpg format you can't say that customers do differently - you can only decide what format the process will spit out.

And technical work can be continued in Inventor (and is advisable).

This is not a contradiction. This is optimization.

[info45]

Tell that to my boss.

He thought a movie file was something he could open up and move around through. I had to describe to him what a digital movie file was, much to my surprise. He's very smart when it comes to geometry and other mathematical ops for designing a new machine or creating a complex piece of sheet metal. He knows his business and is successful. But, computer savvy-ness is not his strength. 

As for the rest of what he wants -- being able to have control over specific parts of a machine model to show how it moves or operates -- I am not even sure where to begin in Inventor for something like that. In Maya, I can give him set-driven keys to control specific parts. 

Honestly, for his purposes, Maya would work just fine. I can import DWGs and make very accurate -- and beautiful renders -- from them. But, he wants what he wants, and all I can do is try to get close to those goals. But... I will forward your last message to his inbox because... who knows?

[info45]

Anyway, my original question was just to help me find some helpful references for better understanding Inventor's animation capabilities. There are some things I've created that worked well, and others that inexplicably, with the same workflows, crashed and burned. Was hoping that I could animate some sections of a model one way, some another, and then combine them at render time. But, apparently this is not the case. Anyway, I've saved your links and will be scanning them.

Thanks for all your time. 

[kacper.suchomski]

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@info45 wrote:

Anyway, my original question was just to help me find some helpful references for better understanding Inventor's animation capabilities.

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Yes, I understood that.

Well, I answered that question in comment no. 4.

The manual is extensive and relatively accessible.

We are unable to provide specific advice without access to and examination of the individual case.