Hi!

I am currently trying to get an overview about the possibility of
separating graphical data from its animations.
More specifically speaking, the graphical data is made up from 3D-CAD
authoring software (e.g. CATIA). This static data is then used to
create animations describing construction steps. Because the original
3D data is undergoing continuous (minor) change, it would be necessary
to alter the animations whenever the 3D data changes. This is clearly
not very reasonable.
So I would like to separate the data and its animations into two files,
the only 'connection' being the object-ID of the graphical objects that
constitute the scene. At runtime the animation should be transformed
(if not already in the right format) and inserted into the X3D file.
The result is a single X3D file including animations that can be e.g.
triggered from the outside.

And here are my questions:

1. Is that concept feasible or not, concerning firstly x3d as graphic
format and secondly the linking mechanism itself?

2. Do you see problems in creating a stylesheet that 'merges' the two
files into one?

3. If separation is possible, how should animations be described?
Already in X3D or maybe in a simpler, proprietary format? (Remark:
Editing animations should be as simple as possible, so Timesensors,
Routes etc. should not be included. Animations are categorized and
follow strict patterns (e.g. duration) which can be used to reduce
information)

4. Does anyone know of solutions that deal with this kind of separation
and are used in industry?

Thanks a lot for your help!

Best regards,

Andreas Hascher