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Navisworks 2011 Crane Boom Animation

By Simon Jones, Autodesk Ltd, December 2010
This tip & trick will explain how to create a simple animation to simulate the motion of a
construction crane boom. This example uses a simple AutoCAD model made up of 3D
solids:

The crane is has been defined as a block and in order to move sub-objects of the crane
separately items have been grouped by assigning different colours. In this example, the
solids within the block definition are all on layer 0 but colour of the base and tower are
yellow, and the cabin, boom and load are orange. The crane block has been inserted on the
02-Crane layer:

Then use the AutoCAD NWDOUT command to write an NWD file and open it in Navisworks.
Lets take a look at one of the crane objects in Navisworks:



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All the crane solids are grouped together in the Selection Tree under the Crane node
(which is derived from the block name) and on the 02-Crane layer which is the blocks
insertion layer. If we select the crane boom, it will be highlighted in the selection tree and if
we take a look at its properties, well see the orange colour (AutoCAD Color Index 30) in the
Properties palette.
In order to manipulate the solids representing the crane boom, we shall create a Search
Set. To do this, open the Find Items palette and enter the following search:
Category Item
Property Material
Condition = (equals sign)
Value AutoCAD Color Index 30
Then hit the Find All button.

All the orange objects will be selected in the Selection Tree and highlighted on the model,
and if you right-click in the Sets palette, you can choose the Add Current Search option:




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This will create a new Search Set set the name appropriately (e.g. Crane Boom):

If you want a uniform colour for the whole crane, simply select the crane in the Selection
Tree and override its colour:

We now have a crane in a single colour:

But selecting the Crane Boom search set will highlight just the boom:




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We are now in a position to set up the crane boom animation:
Switch to a top view
Switch to orthographic projection
Switch the display mode to wireframe
Open the Animator palette
Switch to the Sets tab in the Selection Tree palette

For animation itself, you first need to create a scene. Right-click in the left side of the
Animator palette and select Add Scene from the menu:

Next, select the Crane Boom search set in the Selection Set palette, then select the new
scene, right-click and select Add Animation Set -> From current search/selection set
from the menu:

Set the name of the animation set to Crane Boom the palette should now look like this:



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The next steps create a series of key frames along a time line. First create the keyframe for
the initial position of the crane at time zero with the Capture Keyframe button:

To setup the next key frame, follow these steps:
1. Ensure that the Crane Boom search set is still selected (the boom will be
highlighted).
2. Drag the Time Slider to a new time position.
3. Select the rotate animation set button (the rotate gizmo will appear in the middle of
the crane boom).

Drag the rotate gizmo to the middle of the crane base:

Use the rotate gizmo to rotate the crane boom to a new position:



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Then add a new keyframe to mark the fully rotated position of the crane:

To return the crane back to its original position, use the ping-ping (PP) option:

Hit the Rewind button, to return the animation back to the start position:

Uncheck the Rotate animation set button to switch off the rotate gizmo. Then press the
Play button to preview the animation:



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We can now run the animation at any time and from any view. To do, this:
Switch to the Animation ribbon.
Select the Enable Scripts option (note this will then disable to ability to edit
animations).
Select the scene in the Scene Selector.
Press the Play button.

To save the animation as a video file (e.g. avi), use the Export -> Images & Animations ->
Animation option on the application menu:

For additional Navisworks information refer to the product webpages
www.autodesk.co.uk/navisworks