Physical connections.

Hi folks.
I could really do with some insight from you knowledgeable people.

I’m thinking of starting a project that will rely heavily on hydraulic parts, the bit I have no idea about is how to anchor joints on objects or handle a cylinder sliding inside another. This would be an animated project not just stills, so accuracy of movement is needed.

Pointers please.
Many thanks.

Hydraulic cylinders are best handled wither with Stretch To constraints on an armature, or Track To constraints on empties/meshes. To give an accurate answer I would need an accurate description of the model. IK chains and parented objects will also be very useful to you, again more specifics are required. In the meantime, study the two undercarriage tutorials on my website at http://www.lafavinie.com/blender/index.html, give me some more specific descriptions of what you want to achieve, and then I can help you further.

Cheers, Clock.

Thanks for the link, your work is simply stunning. I have realised I have a lot more learning to do before I get anywhere near the project I want to start. (Which is the unfolding of a large Windrowing machine, agricultural machinery.)

I sill study your examples. Thanks again.

In addition, you too can become one of us knowledgeable people by studying Nathan Vegdhal’s amazing series: Humane Rigging.

I really can’t say enough good things about this tutorial without sounding like a total shill. :wink:

It takes a while to work through, and you can’t skip around, because later lessons build on earlier lessons, but, given the project you’ve committed to, studying Humane Rigging will save you time in the long run.

Thanks for the link, having a bit of spare time I shall start looking at this today. Cheers.

Now you have made me blush… my work is not good enough for the feature row yet, but that is my goal.

I agree with Orinoco - the Humane Rigging is a “must watch” series. If you work methodically and start simple you will get there I am sure. Don’t bite off more than you can chew and always be prepared to get help here. It is a good idea to save iterations of your project, I normally keep at least five back versions, so if I really screw up I can go back and rework differently.

I started with a simple desk lamp with a single “damper” about a year ago.

Cheers, Clock.

Your engine/gearbox setup was stunning, and I’m starting to understand the amount of time I need to dedicate to Belnder, very easy to get started, but there’s a lot of depth.

I got to video 03,04 before I decided I needed to re-think the universe!

Thanks folks, I really appreciate it.