Animation Playback

Animation is cached during model simulation. What you see when you run a simulation is the animation playback, unless the simulation is slower than the animation caching. In that case, the animation goes no faster than the simulation can produce the cache.

Once a partial or complete animation is cached from simulation, starting the animation again plays back the cache, without running the simulation a second time. You can move backward and forward to any time in the cached animation.

The animation cache is stored until you close Mechanics Explorer. When you simulate the model, the cache is updated with new animation data. To create a permanent record of a model animation, you must create an animation video. See Create a Model Animation Video

Looping Playback

Use the Toggle Loop button in the Mechanics Explorer playback toolstrip to automatically replay an animation from the start once it reaches the end. The cached animation replays indefinitely until you click the Pause button. Enable looping by clicking the Toggle Loop button. Disable looping by clicking the button again.

Changing Playback Speed

Use the playback speed slider in the Mechanics Explorer toolstrip to set the animation playback speed ratio relative to real time. Set the slider to a number greater than 1 for faster playback. Set it to a number smaller than 1 for slower playback.

You can set the slider to multiples of 2 from 1/256 to 256. For slower or faster animations, adjust the base playback speed for the model. To change this parameter, from the Mechanics Explorer menu bar, select Tools > Animation Settings.

Jumping to Playback Time

Use the playback slider in the Mechanics Explorer toolstrip to move the playback time to an arbitrary point in the animation timeline. The playback time counter shows the current playback time. Alternatively, enter the desired playback time directly in the playback time counter.