Ball and Socket Property Editor

 
 
 

| Constraint | Motor

Sets the options for the ball-and-socket constraint to determine its behavior in a rigid body simulation. Ball-and-socket constraints make connected rigid bodies move around a pivot point, allowing them complete freedom of rotation on any axis. You can use this type of constraint to create effects such as a link in a chain or a robotic arm.

To create a ball-and-socket constraint: Choose Create Rigid Body Rigid Constraint or Multi Constraint Tool Ball and Socket from the Simulate menu. Then pick the location for the constraint object and the rigid bodies to be constrained.

To redisplay this property editor: Select the ball-and-socket constraint object and press Enter.

For more information on constraints in general, see Types of Rigid Body Constraints [ Simulation and Effects].

Constraint

Active

Toggles the activeness of the constraint. Deselect this option to mute the constraint, which prevents it from affecting the simulation.

Visible

Toggles the display of the constraint object in a view. Deselect this option to hide the constraint object.

Attached Bodies Intercollide

Toggles the collision state of rigid bodies that are attached together by this constraint. For example, if you don't want a forearm to collide with a biceps, deselect this option.

Parameters

Spring (Kp)

The constant that determines the strength of the torsional spring (the spring coefficient in Hooke's law). Kp is multiplied by the angular displacement of the ball-and-socket from its rest axis to determine the force exerted on each rigid body. The units are based on Newtons per meter.

Damping (Kd)

Reduces the velocity of the constrained object. Kd is the damping coefficient, which is multiplied by the rigid bodies' mutual velocity to determine the damping force (which acts in the opposite direction as the Spring). The units are in Newtons per meter per second.

Rest Axis

The axis at which the ball-and-socket tries to return to during the simulation (its rest state). This is defined relative to the frame of reference of the first attached body.

X/Y/Z Component

The X/Y/Z axes values that determine the rest axis.

Motor

A motor applies a torque (force) to a constraint to get it to move at a desired speed (velocity). The motor only works with two rigid bodies used in the constraint relationship.

Motor Active

Toggles the activeness of the motor.

Power

Motor Velocity

The maximum amount of velocity that the motor can generate.

Maximum Torque

The maximum amount of force that can be applied to the constrained object.

Motor Axis

The axes on which the ball-and-socket applies the motor on the rigid bodies.

X/Y/Z Component

The X/Y/Z axes values used for the motor (from -1 to 1). A value of 0 means that the axis is not used.

Creative Commons License Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License