Articulated Rigging of Products for Technical Animation

Creating a Rig for Product Animation and Articulation

Receiving CAD files in a base or closed format is always an interesting game of trying to figure out how the mechanisms work or articulate. With prototypes especially, it is always a learning experience, but with actual products and machines, you usually have some reference to show how it works or moves.

Basic rigging for the most part will animate parts that work as hierarchies, but more advanced rigging and constraints are used to drive parts that work in tandem or are moved by others. Pivot points are key to moving elements accurately. The beauty of the use of technical animation is that you can showcase kinetic movement smoothly and show function free from distractions.

The linking of elements in this case included a spring that flexes as the ladder assembly moves. This setup used a combination of constraints as well as a deformation controller elements to expand and contract the elements.

The renders for this type of work tend to be stylized, but all options are available from line art, stylized up to photo-realistic.

Using rigs and constraints in 3D help to animate products and mechanisms is an effective way to visualize products whether it is for usage, or to showcase features.