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Author Topic: Constraining mesh between two splines. Then array the mesh  (Read 3808 times)

JQ4668

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Constraining mesh between two splines. Then array the mesh
« on: February 20, 2015, 01:59:12 PM »
Hello. I'm sitting at a company who are making bridges. We have only used the basic options in railclone but we are trying to do more advanced stuff.
Is it possible to have two splines and then make some geometry based on those two splines?

You can see how the scene is set up in the attached picture "Splines"
And i want to be able to make some geometry. That's attached to both the green and pink spline. As in the picture "Splines_Stay".
The best thing would be if you could re position the start and end points on each spline. And if I could increase/decrease the numbers of stays.

I'm thinking that you need an expression for this. And an Array Generator. But what you do with it i don't know. Don't know which expressions to use.

This would really help a lot and i hope that you understand what i'm after.
Thanks in advance
 

Paul Roberts

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Re: Constraining mesh between two splines. Then array the mesh
« Reply #1 on: February 20, 2015, 06:12:01 PM »
Hi,

Thanks for contacting us with this interesting use for RailClone. Unfortunately, at present there isn't a generator that will allow you to array segments between two splines, which would be ideal for a bridge like this. We are looking into this as a new feature for a future release, but there are many technical challenges we must resolve first.

There may be a workaround that involves using some trigonometry to rotate and scale cables to point towards supports. This technique uses a linear array but it's not a simple setup and there are a few restrictions that may limit its usefulness. Nonetheless, in case it is of some help. I've attached a sample style to this post so you can examine it in detail (the style uses the most recent RailClone beta).

Here's a short video to illustrate the style being used:


To apply this style you need to set the spline up in particular way. The flat sections, without cables, should be given a material ID of 2. Sections of splines with cables and supports take a material ID of 1. Vertex types should be set to corner except where you want to place a support column, for these a smooth vertex should be used.

I've added some annotations to the attached file to try to explain a little how it works, If you have any further questions, please let me know.

Many thanks,

Paul
« Last Edit: February 20, 2015, 06:28:22 PM by Paul Roberts »
Paul Roberts
iToo Software

Rokas

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Re: Constraining mesh between two splines. Then array the mesh
« Reply #2 on: February 20, 2015, 07:13:58 PM »
i`m speechless...
Rokas

JQ4668

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Re: Constraining mesh between two splines. Then array the mesh
« Reply #3 on: February 23, 2015, 09:57:11 AM »
That was exactly what i was looking for! i'm going to see if i can figure out the setup now :D Thanks a lot!  I'm very impressed by your fast and great response

Can't wait for the release where this is "simplified" :D

JQ4668

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Re: Constraining mesh between two splines. Then array the mesh
« Reply #4 on: February 23, 2015, 11:33:17 AM »
So i've been looking at the seen. i'm not quite sure how you did it. but i'm going to take a look at it again later today. I just got one question. Would it be possible to get your geometry? Because so far all the geometry is "embedded". I've attached an image where you can see what i mean.

Thanks for the great help so far

Rokas

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Re: Constraining mesh between two splines. Then array the mesh
« Reply #5 on: February 23, 2015, 11:35:32 AM »
you can extract geometry by clicking embedded and then toolbar icon with green arrow
http://docs.itoosoft.com/display/RAILCLONE/Style+Editor#StyleEditor-ToextractaSegmentfromRailclone
Rokas

JQ4668

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Re: Constraining mesh between two splines. Then array the mesh
« Reply #6 on: February 23, 2015, 02:42:54 PM »
Oh. Cool. Thanks !