Syflex Zipper

This force creates springs between vertex pairs of the cloth object, allowing you to open and close the space between these vertices.

To have the cloth object split, you must first disconnect its components (points or edges) at the rows you want to use for the zipper. See Using the Syflex Zipper Force for more information.

The zipper needs to know which point is first and last on one side of the edge, and then the first point on the other side of the edge. Once you define these points, the zipper can match up vertex pairs along the two edges.

To apply: See Using the Syflex Zipper Force.

Tasks: Syflex/Forces

Output Ports: Force output plugs into the Force port on the Syflex Cloth or Syflex Curve node.

Side1 Point1	The points (vertices) of the cloth that you want to connect together by a spring. This point is the starting point of the "zipper" on one side of the disconnected edge of the cloth. To figure out each point's number and see an example, see Using the Syflex Zipper Force.
Side1 Point2	This point is the last point of the "zipper" on Side 1 of the cloth's disconnected edge.
Side2 Point1	This point is the first point of the zipper on the side that is opposite to Side 1 Point 1 of the cloth's disconnected edge.
Stiffness	Defines the stiffness (stretch) of the spring that is created between the points. A higher value creates a stiffer spring, while a lower value allows the spring to become more elastic.
Damping	The damp coefficient, which controls the intensity of the damping effect on the spring. Increasing this value can help reduce vibrations that are caused when the spring is very stiff. To start out, use a value that is approprimately one-tenth of the Stiffness value. Be aware that 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.
Length	The spring's relative rest length in Softimage units. The length is set to the initial distance between the two points when the spring is created. It can be animated to increase or decrease the space between the vertices.
Zip	Allows you to open/close the points along the disconnected cloth edge that creates the zipper. Animate this value to have the effect of the zipper opening and closing. When this value is set to 1, the zipper is closed (all springs are active). When this value is set to 0, the zipper is open (all springs are deactivated). Any value between 0 and 1 uses that percentage of the spring.

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