Toric Force Property Editor

 
 
 

To create a toric control object: Choose Get Force Toric from the Simulate toolbar, Get Primitive Control Object Toric from the other toolbars, or Create Force Toric from the Hair toolbar.

To redisplay this property editor: Select the toric object and press Enter.

The toric force is a donut-shaped force that simulates the effect of a vacuum or local turbulence by creating a vortex force field inside the torus. Anything that is inside the torus is affected by the force. This force is useful for making billowing effects in smoke simulations (especially when used in conjunction with the drag force) or having ICE particles or rigid bodies "sucked" through a tube to follow a path (if the torus is open-ended).

The toric force has no effect on Soft body or Cloth simulations.

For more information on forces in general, see Forces [ Simulation and Effects].

To use this force in an ICE tree, see Creating and Applying ICE Forces to ICE Simulations [ICE Guide].

See the parameters in the table below that match the letters in this image.

Name

The name of the force effect.

Mute

Toggles on/off the force effect.

Flow Viscosity

The amount of resistance the simulated objects have to the toric force. A toric force with low viscosity values makes the simulated objects resist motion more strongly, thereby slowing down their flow.

Use Size

Uses size of the simulated objects in the toric force's calculations.

Flow Velocity

The rate of linear motion at which the simulated objects pass through a medium.

Around Axis (D)

A tangential force that pushes the simulated objects (spins them) around the cross-section the torus in a cyclical way.

Away from Axis (C)

A force that attracts objects toward, or repels them away from, the main torus axis (the big circle that defines the center of the tube). Negative values attract objects toward the center of the tube, while positive values repel the objects away from the center of the tube.

Around Torus (B)

A force that moves objects along the main torus axis through the tube. Negative values push the objects in a clockwise direction, while positive values push the objects in a counterclockwise direction.

Decay

The rate of falloff of the force's amplitude. Falloff means that the force has less of an effect on objects that are farther from the main axis (big circle) but still within it.

Influence Zone

Main Radius (A)

Defines the size of the torus.

Cross-section

Defines the thickness of the torus. The cross-section radius defines the area of influence.

Extent

Defines the number of degrees of the extent of the torus: 360 degrees is a closed torus, but you can use fewer degrees to create an open-ended torus. This can be useful for having ICE particles or rigid bodies travel through a force field, as if they were being sucked through a straw, for example.

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