Object animation lets you control movement, rotation, and size of objects on the screen in several convenient ways. You can even use a progression of different bitmaps to show an object changing shape as it moves (and rotates and changes sizes).
Position can be specified two ways; relative screen coordinates, or along a path.
Axis Animation:
PLC tag values dictate the actual screen position of an object. Move objects along a single axis or use different tags for simultaneous X-Y position control.
Point Animation:
Define a path with up to 64 points for point-to-point object motion, or use "ratio" mode to move smoothly along a path. Scaling of PLC tag values to the path positions is optional.
Object Rotation:
Control rotation of an object based on the value of a PLC tag. Also allows scaling of tag values to angular values.
Object Size:
Control the size of an object based on PLC tag values. Independent X and Y-axis scaling of object size is possible, along with scaling of the tag values.
Multi-State Animation:
Change the shape of an object with the "multi-state" function. Load up to 16 different bitmaps into either the Animation Bitmap Object or the Multi-state Bitmap Object, and use a PLC tag to select which bitmap is displayed. Combine this effect with the other animation types for maximum effect.
Benefit:
Animations of machine motion and factory processes enhance comprehension, and give operators a visual representation of the desired motion of products, and machinery on screen. In fault conditions, operators can quickly see the relationship of product or machine position to sensors, or fault zones. Animation can be used to teach operators the correct relationships between mechanical elements or product positions.
Application Example:
In the conveyor belt example shown here, the motion path and rotation for a cardboard box is defined and animated. The dialog boxes for creating the animation are shown below. The first pair of dialog boxes show the creation of the path as a ratio:
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