Use Fragments in a Rigid Body Simulation

In a new Maya scene, set the Time Slider duration to 100 frames and ensure it is set to play back at frame 1.

Create a Polygon Cube to be your wall. Select Create >Polygon Primitives > Cube > .
Set:
- Width to 5
- Height to 0.5
- Depth to 10
Then click Create.
In the Attribute Editor, with the cube still selected, set the Transform Attributes > Translate values to:
- -10.00
- 2.5
- 0.0
This positions the wall at the back end of the grid.
Select Edit > Delete by Type > History.
Use the Shatter tool to set fractures for the wall. See Create shatter.
NoteSolid Shatter is recommended.
Create a polygon plane to act as a floor by selecting Create > Polygon Primitives > Plane > .
Set:
- Width to 25
- Height to 25
and then click Create.
Now, create a cannon ball to fire at your wall. Select Create > Polygon Primitives > Sphere.
In the Attribute Editor, with the sphere selected, set the Transform Attributes > Translate Y- Axis values to 1.0. This sets it on top of the plane.
Select the wall. (To avoid selecting one of its fragments, select Window > Outliner, and expand SolidShatter1 and Shift-select all the shards.
Select Bullet > Create Active Rigid Body> . Set the Collider Shape Type to Hull. (If you choose anything other than a Hull as a shape type, the fragments will intersect and explode when anything touches it.)
Make sure that the Initial Conditions for your Rigid Body wall shape is set to Initially Sleeping or the wall self-destructs the moment you press Play.
Make sure Initial Velocity is set to 0.
Click Apply and Close.
Include the plane in the solve by selecting it and selecting Bullet > Create Passive Rigid Body.
Select the Sphere and select Bullet > Create Active Rigid Body> .
In the Sphere's Collider Properties, set Collider Shape Type to Sphere.
Disable Initially Sleeping and set the Sphere's Create Rigid Body Initial Velocity settings to:
- -10.0
- 8.0
- 0.0
and click Apply and Close. This velocity setting is used to launch the sphere at the wall.
Click Play to view the simulation.

Fragmenting Notes

If fragments fall through the plane, try increasing the resolution of the ground plane mesh or changing the collision type from Box to Plane.
It does not always produce the best result when the Rigid Body Wall object's center pivot is used as the object's Center of Mass. If this is the case, adjust the rotation pivot and click Refit.
Use the Attribute Editor Debug Draw setting in the Attribute Editor Solver Properties section to see if the rigid body collision shape fits tightly around the source mesh and is offset correctly. Using the rigid body Auto Fit attribute to automatically select the correct offset.
There is an automatic 0.04 collision margin added to collision shape created from the source mesh. This means by default, pieces that exactly align automatically collide at the start frame. Use the Initially Sleeping setting or deflate the input mesh slightly to compensate for this margin.

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