I am currently working with a model of a folding door and I
am using linear motors to pull the door open and then reverse
directions and close. I am in SW2008 SP3. The problem I have is
everytime I exit SW (or it does it for me, as it crashes often) and
I reopen SW and the file, the Motion Study cannot solve. If it
moves at all it locks at the reverse. I have been using 2 motors, 1
up 1 down, the up turns off at the halfway point and the down turns
on at the same point. I can't change the assembly any really, my
supervisor (not a SW user, more an advertiser) doesn't want it any
different. I've been using Cosmos Motion and rendering through
PhotoWorks. Is this a common problem? I know Solidworks is not
meant as an animator, but I need to find a way to make it
work!
Is there a reason why you are trying to use 2 linear motors to open and close the door? You can readily use 1 and just change the value over time to make it open and then close.
Animation is all about key frames; points where you are specifying a value for an attribute (whether its a motor value, a visual appearance, or an on/off state). The program transitions between the values at key frames, and you can adjust how it transitions.
The response you will get from the model does change a little depending on if you are using assembly motion, physical simulation, or COSMOSMotion.
What you want to do is well supported by SolidWorks. If you're havving trouble, the first step is to go through the provided tutorials (under the help menu). If you still can't work out how to do what you want, contact your reseller (VAR) if you are working with one for assistance. You can also post here, but if you don't want to share your model (for proprietary or confidentiality reasons), it is hard to diagnose the problem without seeing the way you've set it up.
If you're OK with providing the model, upload it and you far more likely get more specific feedback/suggestions to your question about how to set it up
Hope this gives you some guidance, but as I said, it's a little tricky without seeing how you really have the actuators set in conjunction with the assembly mates.
Cheers,
Ian