ADAMS Animation Use Cases

Several options are available when loading the results of an ADAMS run into the HyperView window.

The analysis type and the bodies contained in the model determine the model and results file types that you can load.

The HyperView window loads files "on demand." This means that when you click Apply on the panel, only the model is loaded into the window. The results are loaded when you click the traffic light button, which stops and starts the animation. If you want to load results for less than the total time contained in the ADAMS .gra file or for time increments longer than the ADAMS .gra file default, you can change these values in the Animation Controls panel before clicking the traffic light. The "load on demand" feature will only load the required time steps.

The use cases listed below refer to an ALTAIR .flx file.
Note: Any reference to an ADAMS .res file is for the ASCII format only.
Use Case Bodies in Model Model Reader Type Results Reader Type
1. Flexbody n/a H3D Flex H3D Flex
2. Transient Purely Rigid ADAMS .gra ADAMS .gra
3. Transient One or more flex Altair .flx Altair .flx
4. Modal Purely Rigid ADAMS .gra ADAMS .res
5. Modal One or more flex Altair .flx Altair .flx

Use Case 1 - Animating an H3D Flexbody File

This use case allows you to visualize the modes of a flexbody. You can animate the file immediately after a flexbody H3D file has been generated (an ADAMS run is not required).

To load and animate an H3D Flex flexbody file:

  1. From the Load Model panel, activate the Load Model and Load Results check boxes.
  2. Select H3D Flex from the Load Model drop-down menu. H3D Flex is automatically listed in the Load Results drop-down menu.
  3. Click the file browser button next to Load Model and select a flexbody file. The same file is loaded into the Load Results field.
  4. Click Apply to load the model.
  5. Click the traffic light to scan the range of frequencies contained in the model.
    Toggling the traffic light to Linear/Modal animation (the tuning fork symbol) from the drop-down menu allows you to visualize a single mode.

Use Case 2 - Animating Transient Results of a Model Containing Purely Rigid Bodies

ADAMS outputs a .gra file that contains the descriptions for the rigid body graphics as well as the time histories of the coordinate systems to which the rigid body graphics attach.

To load and animate the file:

  1. From the Load Model panel, activate the Load Model and Load Results check boxes.
  2. Select ADAMS gra from the Load Model drop-down menu. ADAMS gra is automatically listed in the Load Results drop-down menu.
  3. Click the file browser button next to Load Model and select a .gra file. The same file is loaded into the Load Results field.
  4. Click Apply to load the model.
  5. Click the traffic light to animate the model.

Use Case 3 - Animating Transient Results of a Model Containing at Least One Flexbody

This use case requires information from the ADAMS .gra file, ADAMS .res file, and X number of ALTAIR .H3D flexbody files (translated from ADAMS .mnf or Nastran .pch through the Flexbody Prep Custom Wizard). You only need to load an ALTAIR .flx file through the Load Model and Load Results readers.

To load and animate the file:

  1. From the Load Model panel, activate the Load Model and Load Results check boxes.
  2. Select ALTAIR flx from the Load Model drop-down menu.
    The Load Results reader automatically displays ALTAIR flx as well.
  3. Click the file browser button next to Load Model and select a flx file.
  4. Click Apply to load the model.
  5. Click the traffic light to animate the model.

Use Case 4 - Animating Modal (Linear) Results of a Model Containing Purely Rigid Bodies

This use case requires information from the ADAMS .gra file and the ADAMS .res file.

To load and animate the file:

  1. From the Load Model panel, select ADAMS gra from the Load Model drop-down menu.
  2. Click the file browser button next to Load Model and select a .gra file.
  3. From the Load Results drop-down menu, select ADAMS res.
  4. Use the file browser to open the file that corresponds to the ADAMS .gra file.
  5. Click Apply.
    A secondary window is displayed.
  6. Select the ADAMS Linear result block to load (ADAMS Linear can be performed multiple times throughout a transient simulation).
  7. Click the traffic light to cycle through the frequencies.
  8. Toggling the traffic light to Linear/Modal animation (the tuning fork symbol) displays individual frequency animation.

Use Case 5 - Animating Modal (Linear) Results of a Model Containing at Least One Flexbody

This use case requires information from the ADAMS .gra file, the ADAMS .res file, and N number of ALTAIR H3D flexbody files (translated from ADAMS .mnf or Nastran .pch through the Flexbody Prep Custom Wizard). You only need to load an ALTAIR .flx file through the Load Model and Load Results readers.
  1. From the Load Model panel, activate the Load Model and Load Results check boxes.
  2. Select ALTAIR flx from the Load Model drop-down menu.
    The Load Results reader automatically displays ALTAIR flx as well.
  3. Click the file browser button next to Load Model and select a .flx file.
  4. Click Apply to load the model.
  5. Click the traffic light to animate the model.
    Note: See ALTAIR flx File for more information.