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How
do I move the origin of a part?
How
do I change the color of a part in IPA?
Is
it possible to zoom in on different areas of the
assembly during the animation?
How
do I edit a path that was created with the Path
Wizard?
Is
it possible to show an object bending or distorting?
Is
it possible to simulate fluid flowing?
How
do I copy a path from one object to another?
Is
it possible to add sound to an animation?
How
do I move the origin of a part in IPA?
The
"origin" of a part imported from the CAD
system will be represented by a pivot position in
IPA, which is where its triad is located. You can
change the location of the pivot by a couple of
methods.
If
another object already has a pivot positioned exactly
in the desired location, the MovePivot behavior
can be used to copy that location. Select the object
whose pivot is to be moved then choose Edit-->Properties-->Behavior
List from the menu. You must now Ctrl-select the
object which has the desired location and then Add
the Move Pivot behavior.
To
move the pivot manually, select the object, choose
Edit-->Properties-->Position from the menus,
then select the Pivot Point button. Then, either
type in the desired pivot location or use the mouse
to click and drag the pivot to the new location.
After the desired change has been made select the
apply button. Note that you will have to reselect
the Pivot Point button if subsequent changes are
to be made.
How
do I change the color of a part in IPA?
To
change the object color BEFORE paths are created:
Select
the object you that want to change the color of
Select Edit --> Properties
Select the "Color" tab
Select the desired color from the palette, or define
"custom color"
Select OK twice
The object should now be displayed with the new
color
To
change the object color AFTER paths are created:
Select
the path of the object you want to change the color
of
Select Paths -->Edit Path
Remove the "check" from the color attribute
Select Done (NOTE: This must be done for each path
on the object)
Select Edit --> Properties
Select the "Color" tab
Select the desired color from the pallet, or define
a "Custom Color"
Select OK twice
The object should now be displayed with the new
color
Is
it possible to zoom in on different areas of the
assembly during the animation?
Yes.
Paths can be added to the viewpoint to animate the
camera position during the animation. To create
a path on the camera, select the viewpoint  from
the tree and then choose the create path function.
Select the check mark to add the first path point
at the current viewpoint position and then use the
zoom commands or mouse to manipulate the viewpoint
to the desired position. After the desired viewpoint
position is set, hit the check mark to add the second
path point and then select Done. You will now see
that when this path is played the camera focus is
animated between the two positions. This technique
is also used to create fly\walk through animations
such as through a building. For additional information
on viewpoint manipulation download the FlyThrough
tutorial and exercise files.
How
do I edit a path that was created with the Path
Wizard?
A
path created with the Path Wizard can be modified
by selecting the path and then choosing Paths-->Path
Wizard. This will return you to the path wizard
dialog where you can modify the original settings
for the path.
Is
it possible to show an object bending or distorting?
Although
it is not possible to deform geometry in IPA, there
are a few techniques that can be used to simulate
the deformation of an object. The procedure is to
model multiple parts that show the geometry in various
incremental steps from the start position to the
end position and then create an assembly that contains
all of the different states of the part overlapping
each other with the same origin. You can then load
the assembly into IPA and sequence the visibility
of the parts such that the parts appear to fade
from one state to the next seamlessly. Download
a tutorial with exercise files
that illustrate this procedure.
Is
it possible to simulate fluid flowing?
The
technique for simulating fluid flow in IPA is very
similar to the process used to simulate an object
deforming as described in the previous
tip. To simulate fluid flow you must model the
fluid in several small sections and then animate
the transparency settings of each of the flow segments
so that they appear to turn on one after another
to give the illusion of fluid flowing through the
channels.
How
do I copy a path from one object to another?
A path can be copied from one component to another
through the use of the Duplicate Path command.
Use
the following procedure to duplicate a path:
- First
select the path that you want to copy (either
from the schedule or tree)
-
Hold down the control key and then choose the
object that you want to copy the path to.
- Select
the Paths-->Duplicate Path command.
- Select
the Done button to copy all attributes.
- An
unscheduled path with now appear in the tree under
the ojbect that you duplicated the path to.
- Right
click the unscheduled path and select Schedule
Path.
- Specify
the location in the schedule that you want to
have the path appear
Is
it possible to add sound to an animation?
IPA does not have the ability to incorporate sound
directly into your animation, however, it is possible
to add sound after creating an AVI using an AVI
editing package.
Several AVI editing packages are available from
companies such as Adobe, Lotus, etc. There is also
a free program that can be downloaded from the Internet
which will also allow you to perform some basic
AVI editing including merging sound from a wav file
into your AVI.
This tool is called AVIEdit and can be downloaded
via the following link:
http://www.am-soft.ru/setup.exe
After downloading and installing AVIEdit you will
be ready to merge a sound file into your IPA generated
AVI animation.
You will need to make one WAV file that is the
soundtrack for the entire animation. Then, load
the AVI with AVIEdit, use the File/Merge command
to load the WAV file, and save the AVI file to a
new name. Before you save, make sure that the Save
Options are set to "No Recompression",
or the video will be degraded.
You need to set up all of the sounds outside of
AVIEdit, before you add the WAV file to the AVI.
The Sound Recorder program that comes with Windows
can do everything you need. You can find it in Start/Programs/Accessories/Entertainment/Sound
Recorder.
To add more than one soundtrack, you can load the
original file, then use Edit/Mix With File to add
the second track. Or, if you want them to play sequentially,
use Edit/Insert File instead (position the cursor
at the end of the first sound). You can use Copy,
and then Paste Insert to repeat the sound in the
soundtrack. Finally, you can hook up a microphone
to the inputs of your sound card to record your
own voice track, for instance.
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