Syflex Cloth

This compound creates a Syflex cloth simulation on a polygon mesh object. The stiffness of the springs and the mass of the points define the properties of the cloth, while gravity and global damping add forces.

For general information about creating cloth see Overview of the Syflex Workflow and Creating Syflex ICE Simulations.

The Syflex ICE nodes are tuned so that 1 Softimage unit is equal to 10 cm, but you can use a different scale as you need to. You can get a rough idea of which parameter values (such as for gravity) to use for your simulation with the JavaScript form in the Syflex Cloth (non-ICE) reference documentation that is installed in your Softimage install path/Docs/Syflex folder - open the syflex_units.html file and scroll to the bottom of the page.

To apply: See Creating Syflex ICE Simulations.

Tasks: Syflex/Basic

Output Ports: The Value output plugs into a port on the ICETree node.

First Frame	The first frame at which this simulation begins, which can be at any frame within the scene's timeline frame range. For example, if you need a tablecloth to be settled on a table by frame 1, you can set this to be a negative frame value to create a pre-roll that gives enough time for the simulation to occur.
Precision	This is the percentage of error allowed that determines the precision of the simulation. In most cases, you won't need to change this value since it doesn't depend on the Softimage unit scale. To optimize cloth performance, you should keep this value as high as possible while preserving the look you want. A high percentage of error means that more "error" is allowed. However, do not exceed a value 0.01, or else the simulation may become unstable. The lower the value, the more stable and accurate the simulation, but it will also be slower. In cases where there is a lot of stress on the cloth, some vibrations may appear. In this case you can decrease this value, such as to 0.0005.
Mass	Mass is the quantity of matter of an object. This value defines the mass of the cloth object in whatever units you have specified, and is affected by gravity - see Using the Syflex Gravity Force for information on calculating the mass. Mass determines how quickly objects react to the forces applied to them and how they react in a collision with an obstacle. Objects with a higher mass tend to keep their velocity when exerting forces on them. Therefore, to make a change in an object's motion, you need to apply stronger forces to an object with more mass than to one with little mass. Use a value that gives the appropriate weight to the type of cloth you're creating; that is, a higher value for denim and a lower value for silk. A value that's too high gives unrealistic effects, so generally keep this value on the lower side.
Stiffness	Defines the stiffness (stretch) of the springs that define the cloth. See Using the Syflex Spring Forces for information on springs. A higher value makes the springs stiffer to resist deformation, while a lower value allows the cloth to become more elastic. When you change the value of any of the spring parameters (Stiffness, Shear, or Bend), you should also change the Damping value accordingly.
Damping	The damp coefficient, which controls the intensity of the damping effect on all three types of cloth springs: Stiffness, Shear, and Bend. When the cloth is very stiff, infinite oscillations (vibrations) may occur in the cloth. These vibrations can be avoided by increasing this value. Increasing the damping may increase the computation time, so you should change this value in small increments and test until you get the look you want. To start out, use a value that is approprimately one-tenth of the Stiffness value. Note that this parameter doesn't "slow down" the general cloth motion as does the Damp Global force below.
Shear	Defines the resistance of the shearing springs in the cloth. The shearing springs connect vertices with diagonal links across the face of the polygon mesh (like a fish net). These springs control the crosswise deformation on a cloth. A higher value prevents shearing deformation, while a lower value allows the cloth to stretch crosswise. This value is a percentage of the Stiffness value. Use values between 0 and 1: generally, keep this value between 0.4 and 0.8.
Bend	Defines the resistance of the bending springs in the cloth. The bending springs connect every other vertex on the cloth, which allows the cloth to bend. A higher value prevents bending deformation, while a lower value allows the cloth's surface to bend more. This value is a percentage of the Stiffness value. Use values between 0 and 1: generally, keep this value between 0.1 and 0.4.
Gravity	Sets the force of gravity in the XYZ directions for the cloth simulation - see Using the Syflex Gravity Force for more information.
Damp Global	The damp coefficient which controls the intensity of the overall damping effect on the forces used in the simulation. See Using the Syflex Damping Forces for more information. It's usually better to keep this value lower in order to prevent the cloth from dragging. Also, high values will slow down the simulation.
Force	Plug in a Force output from any of the Syflex nodes. This includes Syflex Force, Collision, and Constraint nodes. The order in which you plug in nodes into these ports matters for Collide nodes - see Evaluation Order of Collide Nodes.