Use Drive on the context menu to simulate mechanical motion by driving a relationship through a sequence of steps. The Drive command is limited to one relationship or joint, but you can drive additional relationships by using Equations to create algebraic relationships between joints or constraints.
To begin, assemble two components using Joint or Constrain.
- In the browser, right-click the relationship, and then select Drive. The Drive dialog box opens.
- In Start, enter the beginning value. The default value is the angle or offset defined for the constraint.
- In End, enter the ending value. The default is the Start value plus ten.
- In Pause Delay, set the time in seconds between steps. Adjust the default value to speed up or slow down motion.
- Click More to set options, as follows:
- Select the Drive Adaptivity check box to adapt components while maintaining the relationship, if needed.
- Select the Collision Detection check box to check for interference.
- Set the Increment between steps by specifying either the value or the total number of steps. Enter a value or click the arrow to select Measure or a recently used value.
- Set the Repetition or Cycles of the sequence: Start/End runs once and returns to the beginning; Start/End/Start runs once forward, then once backward depending on the number of cycles set. Each motion is considered one cycle. For example, for a component to move out, set one cycle. To move out, in, and out again requires three cycles. Optionally, enter a value to run the sequence more than once.
- Click Forward to start the sequence or click Step Forward to advance the sequence one step at a time.
After the sequence begins, click Stop, click Forward or Reverse, Step Forward or Step Reverse, or Go to Beginning or Go to End.
Show Me how to drive a relationship
Tip: To record the drive sequence, click More and set the AVI rate. Then click Record. Enter the file name with extension and click Save in the Save As dialog box. For a .wmv file, set the export options in the WMV Export Properties dialog box, and click OK. For an .avi file, set the export options in the Video Compression dialog box, and click OK. Then click Play in the Drive Constraint dialog box to create the recording.