If you’ve ever tried to explain or visualize how a ligand detaches from a receptor—or how components of a molecular system move apart during a simulation—you’ve probably encountered this common challenge: how do you create a clear, visually engaging animation that communicates detachment dynamics effectively?
This is where SAMSON’s Undock animation comes in. Designed specifically for molecular modelers and educators, this animation type automatically calculates where selected atoms or meshes should move when “undocked” from their original placements. It’s an intuitive way to demonstrate separation, reveal interaction sites, or prepare a dynamic visualization for presentations or publications.
When and Why to Use the Undock Animation
Imagine you’re showing how a drug molecule detaches from its target protein after binding. Or, perhaps you want to communicate structural rearrangements following an external stimulus. Rather than manually adjusting coordinates or interpolating frames, you can quickly generate smooth detachment animations with clear, spatial separation using the Undock animation in SAMSON.
How It Works
The process is straightforward:
- Select the group of nodes or meshes you want to animate and one receptor node (or folder of nodes) to serve as a reference.
- Apply the Undock animation by double-clicking on it in the Animation panel.
- Adjust the keyframes to define the animation timing, and inspect the amplitude or trajectory using the Inspector.
This functionality decouples animation creation from manual spatial manipulation by computing final positions away from the original docked ones for visual clarity. It’s ideal for quickly generating early-stage concepts or refining animations for public communication.
Adjusting Movement and Behavior
By default, SAMSON computes the amplitude of atom/mesh displacement automatically. However, you can easily modify this via the Inspector panel—for instance, to make the movement more subtle or more pronounced depending on the spatial context of your animation.
Animations also support custom interpolation curves (called Easing curves), so you can modify the “feel” of movement—smoother, more mechanical, or spring-like behaviors are all achievable without scripting.
Best Practices and Notes
- If multiple objects should serve as a receptor, group them into a folder first and select that folder during the animation setup.
- Even if nothing is selected, SAMSON attempts to identify appropriate elements automatically—handy for quick tests.
- All animations are accessible via the Animation panel in the Animator, not via the old Animation menu.
Who Benefits from This?
This animation type is useful whether you’re a researcher trying to illustrate hypotheses, a communicator preparing figures for a talk, or an educator explaining structural interaction mechanisms to students. It saves time while offering clarity through motion.
To learn more and explore step-by-step instructions, visit the full documentation page for the Undock animation here: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/animations/undock/
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net