Overview#
The Animation workspace turns an assembly into a sequence of steps, such as an exploded view, a build-up or a walk-through. It works on a design's components, not its history. Animations are stored as one or more storyboards inside the design. Anything you do in Animation does not alter the underlying model, which is why it is safe to experiment.
The most common use is the exploded view: components separate along axes so that each part is visible. Fusion offers three ways to get there:
- Auto Explode: One Level separates the direct child components of the selected assembly.
- Auto Explode: All Levels separates every level of the hierarchy down to the leaf parts.
- Manual Explode lets you choose components and drag them along a chosen axis, with control over order.
Autodesk's help summarises them as exploding the first-level children, exploding all levels, or manually selecting components and defining the axis, with an option to explode in one step or sequentially.
An animation needs an assembly with multiple components. A design with one body gives nothing to explode. Bodies not wrapped in components cannot be transformed individually, so convert bodies to components first.
Where to find it#
- Workspace switcher (top left) > Animation.
- Toolbar Transform drop-down: Auto Explode: One Level, Auto Explode: All Levels, Manual Explode, Transform Components, Restore Home, Show/Hide and Appearance.
- The Animation Timeline lists storyboards, actions and durations. The playhead at a positive time records actions; at Time 0 or in the Scratch Zone (left of the timeline) transforms are honored but not recorded.
- The Browser shows the same component tree. Selecting the top-level assembly there is the usual starting point.
Step by step#
Auto explode#
- Switch to the Animation workspace and move the playhead to the time at which the explosion should happen.
- In the Browser or canvas, select the components to explode.
- Choose Transform > Auto Explode: One Level or Auto Explode: All Levels. One Level does not explode a sub-assembly inside the selection; All Levels does.
- On the Auto Explode toolbar adjust the Explosion Scale slider and choose One-Step Explosion (all together) or Sequential Explosion.
- Adjust the start and end of each step on the timeline, then click OK.
Manual explode#
- Move the playhead, then choose Transform > Manual Explode.
- Select a component, then pick the axis to explode it along. Repeat for each component.
- Set the Explosion Scale and One-Step or Sequential on the Auto Explode toolbar.
- Adjust the actions on the timeline, then click OK.
Fix a bad explosion#
- In the timeline, select the action and press Delete, or right-click it and choose Delete.
- To retime it, drag its edges, or right-click > Edit Action and enter start and end times.
Add trails#
- Select a component, right-click and choose Trail Visibility from the marking menu to toggle its trail. The trail runs from the center of the component's current location to the center of its home location.
Options reference#
| Option | What it does | Notes/default |
|---|---|---|
| Auto Explode: One Level | Moves top-level children apart | Quick overview; selection must be an assembly |
| Auto Explode: All Levels | Recurses to leaf parts | Can produce a very spread-out view |
| Manual Explode | You pick components and axes | Most control; slowest |
| Explosion Scale | Scale of the explosion (slider on the Auto Explode toolbar) | Set in the toolbar |
| One step / Sequential | All parts at once or one after another | Sequential feels like assembly instructions |
| Axis | Direction of movement | Picked per component in Manual Explode |
| Trail Visibility | Motion-path line, toggled from the right-click marking menu | From current to home position |
| Restore Home | Returns a component to its original position | Adds an action |
| Duration | Time of the action in the storyboard | Edit Action or drag the edges |
| Selection (components) | What moves | Use Browser for nested parts |
Tips and pitfalls#
Tip: Start with Auto Explode: One Level, check the result, and then refine just the awkward sub-assemblies with Manual Explode. This is faster than doing everything by hand.
Tip: Group fasteners with the part they secure. Select the part plus screws and washers together in Manual Explode so they move as a unit, and then move the fasteners further to show the sequence.
Warning: Auto explode picks directions based on the assembly structure and geometry, and results may overlap or run in odd directions. Always review from several angles before trusting it.
Note: not confirmed in Autodesk's documentation: how grounded components behave in Animation.
Warning: All Levels can explode sub-assemblies that you want to show intact (for example a bearing). Explode One Level first and then explode selected sub-assemblies individually.
Tip: Name components clearly in the Design workspace. The Browser shows them in Animation too, and good names make selection fast.
Warning: Components that are linked external references can be animated, but changes in the source design update the animation. If you add or remove parts upstream, review your storyboard for broken or missing actions.
More guidance:
- Keep exploding along the main assembly axis (typically the screw axis) so the view reads as an instruction.
- If you plan to place the exploded view in a drawing, use a Drawing base view; you reference the storyboard there: Create > Base View, then choose Storyboard as the Representation.
- Exploded view distances should look proportional: far enough that parts do not overlap, close enough to show relationships.
- Camera movement is recorded only while the View camera toggle is on (red dot); see the next page.
- Visual effects like transparency or hiding of components can be added as actions, for example to hide a housing while showing internals.
- Not confirmed in Autodesk's documentation: Personal-use limits on Animation features.
Typical explode patterns#
| Product | Approach |
|---|---|
| Stacked enclosure | One Level along Z, then add fasteners manually |
| Motor with gearbox | Auto All Levels, then manually reduce gear spread |
| Furniture | Manual: panels along their normals, fixings last |
| PCB assembly | One Level; separate connectors with Manual |
Order and sequencing#
Autodesk does not state what order a sequential explosion follows. If the order is wrong, create separate Manual Explode actions in the order you want and move them on the timeline.
How the explode types behave#
Autodesk's tutorials separate two choices that are easy to confuse: the level (One Level, All Levels, Manual) and the timing type of the explosion. The timing type, one step versus sequential, only matters for animation. When you plan to use the exploded view in a drawing, Autodesk's Animation help documents One-Step and Sequential explosions; it does not say which to use for drawings. A drawing shows the final state, so one-step is the natural choice (general reasoning).
Place the view on a sheet from the Drawing workspace: Create > Base View, and in the view dialog set the Representation to the storyboard (for example Storyboard 1). The base view representation list in Autodesk's help is Assembly, Component, Folded Component, Flat Pattern and Storyboard. Some tutorial versions label the storyboard choice "Exploded View", so look for the storyboard name in your own list. The drawing records the state of the storyboard, so you must update the drawing after changing the explosion.
Worked example: a six-part enclosure#
Assume a handheld enclosure made of: top shell, bottom shell, PCB, battery, four screws and a rubber gasket. The assembly depth is 28 mm.
- Select the top-level assembly and run Auto Explode: One Level with the Explosion Scale slider set so the parts clear each other. The shells, PCB, battery and gasket move apart along their own directions; the screws, being children of the bottom shell or the top level depending on how you built the model, may or may not separate.
- Check from the front and the isometric view. If the PCB and battery overlap, run Manual Explode on the PCB along Z for another 20 mm, and the battery 40 mm.
- Select the four screws together and move them 70 mm along Z, the screw axis, in one Manual Explode action. This puts the fasteners at the top of the exploded stack where a reader expects to find them.
- Turn on trails. Dotted lines now run from each screw back to its hole, and the drawing will include them.
- Switch to a drawing and place the storyboard representation at a scale that fits: if the exploded height is 28 + 60 + 20 + 40 + 70 mm, roughly 220 mm, a 1:2 scale on A3 landscape puts it near 110 mm tall, which leaves room for balloons.
Edge cases and failure modes#
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing explodes | The model is a single body or bodies not wrapped in components | Create components from bodies in the Design workspace |
| Parts explode in odd directions | Auto Explode uses the assembly structure and geometry | Delete the action and use Manual Explode along the main axis |
| A sub-assembly (bearing) flies apart | All Levels recurses to leaf parts | Use One Level, then explode only the sub-assemblies you want |
| Exploded drawing shows the old state | The drawing has not been updated | Update the drawing, or reselect the storyboard |
| Fasteners drift away from their holes | Different axes for parts and fasteners | Use one axis for the whole stack |
| Linked component changes upstream | Source design changed | Review all actions and re-run explodes |
| First part moves unexpectedly | Not covered in the docs | Check the first action; use Restore Home or Transform Components to correct it |
Workflow advice#
Plan the explosion before you open the dialog. Choose one primary axis (the fastening direction), then decide the order in which readers should reconstruct the assembly. Use One Level for the bones of the view and Manual for the finesse. Give each Manual action a meaningful group: "Screws out", "PCB out", "Battery out". Name the storyboard "Exploded - drawing" so no one confuses it with an animation, and make a second storyboard "Exploded - animation" with sequential timing for video. That avoids the common conflict where the drawing wants a static state and the video wants a staged sequence.
Keep distances proportional. A useful rule is to separate each part by about 1.0 to 1.5 times its own thickness along the axis, then increase for fasteners so their leaders do not touch. If the result is taller than the sheet allows, reduce the spacing rather than the scale of the whole drawing, since small parts will become illegible.
Practice exercise#
- Build or open a small assembly with a base, a PCB, a top cover and four screws, all as components.
- Switch to the Animation workspace and run Auto Explode: One Level with the Explosion Scale slider at a comfortable setting. Screenshot the result.
- Add a Manual Explode that withdraws the four screws 60 mm along the screw axis in a single action, then a second that lifts the PCB by 25 mm.
- Turn on trails (right-click > Trail Visibility) and check that every screw trail ends at its hole.
- Duplicate the storyboard and rename the copy "Exploded - animation". On that one, set the explode to sequential and play it.
- Open a new drawing from the design, choose Create > Base View, set the Representation to the first storyboard and the scale so the stack fits on A3.
- Edit the first explode (for example change its Explosion Scale), return to the drawing and update it. Confirm that the view follows.
- Expected result: an exploded drawing view with trails, an independent sequential animation, and proof that the drawing follows the storyboard after an update.
Related#
- Storyboard, Transforms and Publishing Video
- Camera and Depth of Field
- Tips for Photoreal Output