SketchyPhysics3.2 (Dec 2)

MichaelG.1

I posted a comment
[more particularly a plea for help]
in the newbie forum, yesterday.

Grateful for any assistance.

MichaelG.

Update: 01-01-2011
... Having received no response. I finally discovered that my download of SP3.2 was either incomplete or corrupt.
Now, having downloaded a fresh copy, everything seems to work.

robint

help UI window not working

Postby robint on Mon Jan 03, 2011 8:59 am
ive got su8 latest and sp 3.2 installed

when I try to inspect joints i get the usual info for a hinge (say). when I try to input say accel or a controller name , it accepts them but doesnt do anything - no slider in the run panel

Ive tried the other tip of clicking on the UI button to exit the UI window to no avail

I saw a tuorial where it said that you can turn a hinge into a reversible motor by putting accel = 1 and giving the controller a name - which is then supposed to bring up a slider in the run panel - i just get a blank.

then i go back and look again and just get blank boxes. only restarting su8 will clear the prob but it comes back if I try to change a parameter

cheers Robin

ps I havent got so excited since I first used SU4 - this could be a wonderful educational tool if physical values could be added to demonstrate newtons laws for example

I made a double pendulum the other day, but as already said, there's lots of real world physical attributes to be addressed (eg mass, density, friction, elasticity etc) but its early days

robint

Hi guys

how or where do I post a skp model for discussion

also i cant post a link here?

robin

robint

This site seems to be moribund, not a lot happening?

Anyway Ive solved the UI problem

so all working ok now

robint

here my 2c worth for sp 3.2

if you want to make a reversible motor joint, use the hinge (as per sp2) and set the controller blue box to

quote slider ( 'anyname' )

you can see the same construction using the motor joint

wish I didnt have to waste hours getting to this point.

Also

to make magnetic solids work you need to set the ui box status to magnetic
and the magnetic force to a large value eg +- 1000

not obvious is it?

I wonder whether its worth contributing to a wikimanual at5 this stage if thereis going to be an sp4 completely recoded?

Robin

jblively

@robint said:

to make magnetic solids work you need to set the ui box status to magnetic
and the magnetic force to a large value eg +- 1000

I do believe that magnetic force is also affected by mass and scale. So if the model is very large, you'll need a larger value for magnetic force. If you have a small scale model, you can use a magnetic force of as little as 10 to see results.

There is so much involved in SP, more documentation would be nice, but i'm just glad we have people here we can chat with who want to help!

pilou

Does this vervion can works on the V6?

robint

Hi JB

good point

afik though there is a density coeff, I dont know how well it correlates to the mass of an object?
the apparent mass i governed by the size of the collision shape as set in the rt click physics setting

havent figured this tiresome details out yet

I have a number of cu4rious physical models i would like to post for discussion (eg double pendulums etc) but havent yet found a way to post these little experiments.

It seems daft that one cant attach these on this forum - severly limiting

Any ideas?

CPhillips

Yes magnets are effected by the size of an object.

You can attach files to posts. Look at the bottom of the form and there is an "Upload Attachment" tab.

robint

hi all

sorry pardon didnt see the tab for uploading

I was trying to make a chain rotating around 2 sprockets. The chain seems to want to fly apart, its all chaotic? even though its all supposed to be stationary, any ideas

btw i have su8 and sp3.2 dec2010

its all good fun but i wish i had more control over the way things work, bit hit and miss at the moment

btw although bugsplat is a good tool, i dont connect my main machine directly to the net for obvious security reasons, so cannot utilise bs directly. It would be much more convenient if bs made a composite text file stored conveniently which i could gather up and post here to help with su crashes. Its a bit cumbersome at the moment

cheers robin

a chain loop goes wrong

TIG

CPhillips
Please see here for an 'issue' with group.definition http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?p=300105#p300105

robint

hi CP

thanx for the tip, will see if i can make it so.

any pointers on where to start on Ruby so i can at least know something of what im doing?

cheers

Robint

robint

@tig said:

CPhillips
Please see here for an 'issue' with group.definition http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?p=300105#p300105

Hi
I tried the code but it seemed to make things worse

Code: Select all
class Sketchup::Group
if not Sketchup::Group.method_defined?(:definition)
def definition() # make it so you can use group.definition
return(self.entities.parent)
end
end#if
end

something about a chain sp doesnt like

Im stuck, my chain flies apart

robin

attemtped chain

robint

High CP

I have used Poser 5 in the past and learnt about inverse kinematics and joints

I think there is a fundamental limitation that prevents you making a chain of joints because the last child joint has to join the first parent so the parent must then become a child. This would be inherently unstable (like positive feedback) which is why the joint flies apart in pieces

Can anyone confirm my guesswork or poiont me somewhere that a working chain has been made (ie will revolve around a sprocket

cheers robin

hpnisse

Hey, robint!

Your chain works perfect when you set the collision state correct in every single object
Re. my chain 1.skp

Oxer

Hi,
I have installed SketchyPhisics 3.2 on Mac with OSX 10.6.6 and SU8 and the plugin don't woks, SU read the plugin, appear the toolbars, you can create the shapes but when you press the play appears a window with this message:
Error initializing the Simulation: : uninitialized constant MSketchyPhysics3::SP3xSimulationContext::SPSounds /Users/Oxer/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/Plugins/SketchyPhysics3/ControllerCommands.rb:777:in `initialize'
And in the ruby console this:
%(#FF0000)[String doesn't compile: uninitialized constant MSketchyPhysics3::SP3xSimulationContext::SPSounds#<NameError: uninitialized constant MSketchyPhysics3::SP3xSimulationContext::SPSounds>
/Users/Oxer/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/Plugins/SketchyPhysics3/ControllerCommands.rb:777:in `initialize'
/Users/Oxer/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/Plugins/SketchyPhysics3/sketchyphysicstool.rb:727:in `new'
/Users/Oxer/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/Plugins/SketchyPhysics3/sketchyphysicstool.rb:727:in `initialize'
/Users/Oxer/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/Plugins/SketchyPhysics3/sketchyphysicstool.rb:1623:in `new'
/Users/Oxer/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/Plugins/SketchyPhysics3/sketchyphysicstool.rb:1623:in `startphysics'
/Users/Oxer/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/Plugins/SketchyPhysics3/sketchyphysicstool.rb:1650:in `physicsTogglePlay'
/Users/Oxer/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/Plugins/SketchyPhysics3/sketchyphysicstool.rb:1738]
I have reinstalled SketchyPhysics3.1 and works.

robint

@hpnisse said:

Hey, robint!

Your chain works perfect when you set the collision state correct in every single object
[attachment=0:au7zhech]Re. my chain 1.skp[/attachment:au7zhech]

Hi H

Thanks for that tip, the model chain works for me now, but I dont understand how setting the object state to "show collision geometry" makes such a radicle difference?

obviously i dont understand this state? I looked on the tutor manual but that wasnt helpful
so i am puzzled

nice that one can actually make a set of revolving links

What we need now is a workable spring (with variable rate and damping). the legacy one only works in sp2.3 not in 3.2. perhaps its work in progress

can anyone tell me if joints have a built in friction?

A simple pendulum will slowly come to rest, so there must be some restraint or energy loss built in? is this variable?

in mechanical systems you need mass, stored energy (spring) and friction (damping) preferably using SI units so as to start physical modelling

BTW I was once involved with a brilliant guy who made an amazing music generating prog that allowed exploration of scales, rhythms etc. BUT he was a C++ script magician and his prog became a tangle compost heap of widgets with a poor and almost unusable manual. I tried to help sort out the mess but the guy simply couldnt organise his thoughts in a consistant and methodical manner so his brialliant concepts came to nought as prospective users lost enthusiasm and gave up.

If anyone is preparing to organise a proper manual for SP4 then I can offer my 2c worth

cheers

Robin

All good stuff as I had come to a brick wall till now

robint

hi all

Im posting some models that illustrate some points and queries

all comments gratefully received

Robin

[my cone n ball

rotates using a motor hinge (when will this become reversible?

Two balls used, small one falls to bottom so that larger one is off centre and crawls up the side and out otherwise just drops to bottom.

nice demo of centripetal force and a hollow solid](/uploads/imported_attachments/elvl_myconeandball1.skp)

[my lift ball

tried using lift capsule and got it working, then i moved the capsule and it all fell apart. but now i cannot recreate a lift capsul with a slider or a piston

strikes me that a slider is unnecessry as its the same as a piston but without accel and damping figures - so why bother.](/uploads/imported_attachments/E5tW_myliftball.skp)

[my rotating box

strange that the slider now makes a hinge behave like a servo
If you push tha slider to one end then the cube over turns and starts rotating in an erratic manner (like a ball running up and down a valley then gaining enough momentum to over top and run down the next valley.

before (maybe in a previous version of SP this feature would behave like a true reversible motor - now it doesnt? what happened

also if you get it going full speed one way then throw it into full speed other way, it crashes SU](/uploads/imported_attachments/wXwb_myrotatingbox1.skp)

[my spring box

cant get the spring to move at all. is it now not supported in sp3.2 ?](/uploads/imported_attachments/IRVt_myspringbox1.skp)

solodown

Toujours pas de nouvelles pour faire fonctionner ce plug-in sous Mac OS X 10.5.8 avec Google SketchUp ?

zunkian

Hi!

Is there a manual for SketchyPhysics for beginners?
If there is one, please upload.
Thank you.

Andy