Using a geometry to set viewport direction

a picture would be helpful

http://www.geocities.com/wwswimming/view_thru_frame.htm

this is a solid constructed in aries, imported into solidworks.

i set up a geometry shaped like a windowframe, and use that to
establish the view.

in this case, by rotating the earth around its center, and then taking
screenshots every 15 degrees, you get images from which an animation
can be constructed.

a brief example

http://www.geocities.com/wwswimming/earth_rot__.gif


alternatively, by positioning "windowframes" sequentially in space, you
have another way to create images for an animation.

so ... how would i get this to work using pro-e ?

there's got to be a way !

in pro-e wildfire 2005, i assembled an earth solid and a windowframe
solid into an assembly.

then poked around view, view manager, etc. but haven't found a way to
use solids in the assembly to establish the view direction.

anybody got an idea ?

thanks !

 

In Pro/e, you can rotate either the sphere or the window frame in the assemblly.
But for either to be capable of rotational movement, they traditionally have to be
attached to rotating datums, i.e., a datum constructed through an axis with an
angular dimension to another datum. In WF, you pick the axis, hit the "Create
datum plane" icon and an angular datum snaps in at 45 degrees which you can modify
to anything you want. Then you use this datum for assembly of either the sphere or
frame. Keep modifying the anular value to get the rotation.

The view manager, Orientation tab could be used for producing a saved view which
places the window frame parallel to the screen and oriented vertically.

An alternative to locking everything to moveable datums is to assemble components
with 'connections', a tab on the assembly interface if you have the Mechanism
Design module.

Certain connection types allow rotational movement. Later, a motor can be added to
power the rotation and create animations. Then you create an mpeg of the
animation for independent playback. Besides the motion done with MDX, there's also
animations done with Design Animation Extension, another addon module that shows
up under 'Applications>Animation'. This lets you do keyframe sequences, then
interpolates the movement between them to create something that combines mechanism
dynamics and animated explode view. With it, you could 'fly by' the spinning earth
and watch the earth pass from the left side of you viewport to the right as you
fly out of view.

 

thanks very much for the info !