Using 3D Textures in Visualize Animations

Step 1 - Making a 3d Textured Golf Ball

a) You will need to create a basic solid body before starting. I have made a basic sphere using a revolve boss base.   

b) Choose a 3D Texture from Task Plane > Appearances, Scenes and Decals > Appearances > Miscellaneous > 3D Textures. Apply by dragging texture onto model.

c)When texture is applied go to: Edit appearance > Advanced > Mapping, and then correctly position and resize as desired.

Note: I have added my own texture map image, ideally the texture used should be an image generated from height map. A height map uses the luminance channel to represent the height from the floor; black pixels representing minimum height and white pixels’ maximum.  A good source for finding textures is www.textures.com.

d) Next, to add the 3D texture go to > Solid bodies folder, right click and select the 3D texture icon shown below. 

 

e) This is where you can select the textures you want to use and adjust their refinement, offset distance and element size. Keep in mind the more elements created the harder it will be for SOLIDWORKS. This is also dependent upon your graphics card.

f) Once you’ve made your model with the applied 3D texture, save it and import into Visualize 2019. If desired, set up an environment, back plate and apply a material to add some realism. 

Step 2- Moving the ball

a) To make viewing the animation clearer set the Mode to Preview.

b) Set the Selection tool to Model.

c) Hover over the object manipulation tools and select Move as shown.

d) Drag the ball up with the green arrow on the ‘y’ Axis. The higher you move the ball the more bounce you will get when it hits the ground.

e) In order to add animation to the ball. You need to go to the Model tab > select the part you want to animate. Next, go to the Physics tab.

f) Here you will see the options: Static Friction, Dynamic Friction, Elasticity and Mass.

Make sure you set the Simulation type to Dynamic.

Static -force that keeps the object at rest and must be overcome to start moving the object.

Dynamic- the force that acts between moving surfaces and is required to jeep the object in motion

Elasticity-The bounciness of the surface. Value of 0 wont bounce while 1 will bounce without a loss of energy.

Mass- mass of object (kg) This is usually linked to the material applied to the model.

The main thing to focus on in this instance is the elasticity, setting it high will create more bounce when the ball hits the ground.

g) After this > Show Simulation manager in order to set up the animation.

h) Press play / pause to preview the ball dropping, you can then alter the settings such as elasticity and the height you moved it to control the bounce.

i) When you’re happy, reset the animation with Reset Physics.

j) Press Record Physics.

k) Press Stop Physics to end the recording.

Step 3 - Editing the Animation

You should see the animation appear as color-physics Animation.

a) You can play this back similar to the Simulation Manager using Play/Pause and Start.

b) To further refine the animation, use Current Slider Speed to change the speed at which the animation plays, this will slow down the ball falling.  

c) The frames per second (FPS) will control the amount of frames the animation plays. The higher it is the better the quality.

Step 4 - Rendering the Animation

a) Go to Tools > Render

b) In output tools, select Animation, set your preferences for Output file.

c) If you go into the Render Options tab you can select the Size and Resolution of the render.

d) In Render Settings > Renderer Selection set the render to be Accurate.

e) Set Render Passes as desired. The higher it is the better the quality.

Note: I enabled Denoiser, which allows visualize to anticipate and eliminate noise, it also speeds up the rendering process.

f) Finally Start Animation Render.

Generated Animation: