Chain Links

8/8/2019 Chain Links

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/chain-links 1/5

Tutorial: Chain Links By John Larsen

Tutorial requirements: 3D Studio Max R2 through R2.5. No plug-ins needed. In this tutorial you will learn the basic functionsof the dynamics utility that is built into MAX R2.

In the process, I used a loft to get the shape of the link. However, using the loft proved too time consuming with the dynamiccalculations even though the lowest level of detail was used in the loft for the simulation. You can use a simple torus with 8segments and 4 sides. This runs the calculations very quickly, which allows you to experiment more.

Step One:

Either create a torus with 8 segments and 4 sides, or create a spline the shape of a link and loft it as I have done shownbelow.

Step Two:

With the loft, keep the Shape Steps and Path Steps at 1.(Options in the Skin Parameters under Loft) After we run thedynamic calculations, we will increase the detail of the loft or torus.

Step Three:

Instance the link once and rotate it 90 degrees on the X axis. Then make instances with those two links until you have abou9 links. It is important to make them instances so that you only have to fiddle with one link to increase the detail later.

Important: After instancing the links, make sure you have the right naming order: Link01, Link02, Link03, Link04 etc. So thatyou will know which Link is next to which. Because when you instance twos the numbering falls out of order.



Step Four:

Under Create/Space Warps/Particles & Dynamics, apply wind to your scene as I have done in the right. Do not Bind to SpacWarp.

Step Five:

Go to Utilities/Dynamics. The utility will appear below. Now you need to enter what objects will be involved in the Dynamics0simulation. Under Simulation Name, click on the new button. Then under Objects in Simulation click on the Edit Object Listbutton.



Step Six:

The Edit Object List will appear. This operation is simply Including or Excluding objects from the simulation. Originally theobject names will appear in the left box, you select the ones you want and use the arrow buttons to move them to the box onthe right. Just like Include/Excluding objects from lights. When done click OK button. Now click on the Edit Object button.

Step Seven:

Under OBJECT: is the list of all your objects that you entered in the Edit Object List. Under Collision Test select the Meshradio button. You want to calculations to recognize the shape of the links. If the objects were solid and you were just going tbounce them off of each other than the other selections would be more appropriate. This allows for faster calculations. UndeAssign Effects/Collisions is where you identify what effects will be used and which objects it will collide with.

Step Eight:

Select the first Link under OBJECTS and then below under Misc Dynamic Controls make The Object is Immovable. Becaus



you want the rest of the links to hang on to the first link. You could put in a nail or something that holds the first like, and mathat Immovable. If you choose to do this, then apply that as if it were Link01 in this tutorial.

Step Nine:

Select Link02 and under Assign Effects/Collisions select the Assign Object Effects... button. In this dialogue box, you can

select which Space Warps that you want to effect your object. Again this is same procedure as Include/Exclude. Move gravito the box on the right to include the effect for Link02, then click OK

Step Ten:

Again, under Assign Effects/Collisions select the Assign Object Collisions...button. Since you are working with Link02, youwill want it to collide with its neighboring links, Link01 and Link03. This will keeps the links attached so they do not breakapart. Now follow steps Nine and Ten with Links 03 through 09.

Step Eleven:

Select all the Links in the viewport and go into Material Editor. Apply the material that you want, then go to the bottom of the

rollout under Dynamic Properties.

Bounce Coefficient: 0.75Static Friction: 0.5Sliding Friction: 0.0

Using the material as the dynamic settings seems more practical than applying these configurations to each objectindividually in the Dynamics Utility. Highest bounce is 1.0 which is too much for a metal chain. Bounce of 0.0 causes thechain to fall apart. It will still fall apart later in the animation using 0.5, so 0.75 seems to be the best bet. Static Friction wasused to tone down the bouncing of the metal. But this caused it to move slow motion, so it might not be the appropriatesetting. Experiment with it.

Now back under the Dynamics Utility rollout, under Timing & Simulation, you need to set the start and end time of thecalculation. I chose 400 to give the chain time to bounce around a bit. Though you would need more time for it to come to acomplete stop. When it does the calculations, it put a key on every frame unless you specify under Keys Every N Frames.



Downloaded from www.The3dStudio.com

Finally, just above Timing & Simulation click on Solve. This will start the calculations, so grab your self some coffee or amagazine as it may be a while depending on the complexity of your geometry.

When the calculations are finished, play it back to see the results. If you are happy with it, go ahead and increase theresolution of the Links or torus objects. Also, you may want to go into the Track View apply the Reduce Keys under Edit Timto reduce Track View clutter.

Any comments or suggestions please don't hesitate to send E-Mail - [email protected] or [email protected] - THANKS

Documents

Chain Links