Mechanical APDL Basic Analysis Guide - Ansys

• ANMODE (Utility Menu> PlotCtrls> Animate> Mode Shape) produces an animated sequence of a
deformed mode shape in POST1. Before using ANMODE, you must execute a command that contains
deformation.
• ANMRES (Utility Menu>PlotCtrls>Animate>Animate Over Results) produces an animation of results
over multiple results files in an explicit dynamic structural analysis or fluid flow analysis with remeshing
in POST1.
• ANTIME (Utility Menu> PlotCtrls> Animate> Over Time) produces an animated sequence of a contoured
deformed shape varying over time in POST1. Before using this macro, you must execute a display
command that contains deformation, contouring, or both and you must have a solution containing
time variance.
ANDYNA, while still supported by ANSYS, has been replaced by the ANDATA macro.
17.4. Capturing Animated Display Sequences Off-Line
In this procedure, you produce graphics images one at a time, photographing or video-recording them
frame by frame. Among this technique's advantages is the fact that when you capture an animated sequence
one frame at a time, there is generally no limit on its complexity, and performance does not degrade with
increasing numbers of entities.
In general, producing high-quality graphics video recordings is a job for multimedia experts with specialized
equipment. Capturing a sequence of individual frames on video requires three separate pieces of equipment:
• A device that produces a television-style video signal (accomplished through the use of an add-in board,
a separate encoder, or a scan converter).
• A frame controller to control the video recorder as it captures the individual frames. The frame controller
receives both the television video signal and a computer input (such as serial RS-232), and sends instructions
to capture the frames.
• A frame-controllable video recorder (which differs considerably from a home VCR).
In addition to specialized hardware requirements, some custom software is also needed for video recording.
The /SYS command in ANSYS provides the programming interface between the ANSYS program and these
special systems, allowing video system commands to be integrated into your ANSYS session.
Another hardware solution for animation is capturing single frames onto film, using a device known as a
film recorder. As with video frame-capture equipment, images are saved onto film under software control.
The best of these devices can be expensive, and custom programming may be involved in using them.
A relatively low-cost approach to film recording involves the use of a stationary camera shooting individual
frames from a graphics display. These frames are then processed as the individual frames of a film. The resources
of photographic technicians are often required to turn still images into acceptable-quality moving
film.
17.5. The Stand Alone ANIMATE Program
When you create animations in UNIX, they are stored as ANIM files. This format is not supported outside of
ANSYS. You can use the ANIMATE Program (ANIMATE.exe) to conveniently play back your ANIM files on
the PC. The ANIMATE program runs on the PC, even if you do not have ANSYS installed. You can also use
the ANIMATE program to convert your ANIM files to an AVI format. The AVI animation file format is supported
by a number of Windows applications, including Windows Media Player. ANIMATE is especially useful for
creating portable files that can be exchanged via the internet, since the AVI file format is significantly smaller
than the ANIM format.
Release 13.0 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
17.5.The Stand Alone ANIMATE Program
269