Newbie to SP in need of help.

deskpilot

G'day all, greetings from Adelaide, South Australia.

I have been using SU for some time now and have got to a point where I need SP as well. My models are of ultralight or recreational aircraft that I would like to build some day.
Currently I'm working on a retractable under carriage that I just cannot get to work. Where do I go from here? I would include an image but can't get that to work either
If any of these images show up, they're samples of my work. They appear to be showing but things do get lost in hyperspace.

Happy to converse with one and all.

Cheers, Doug. aka Deskpilot.

EagleRay. A double delta, single seat fighter look-a-like. Very hard to get the wings right.

An un-named twin boomed pusher

My first attempt at SU. Currently redesigning this aircraft.

VW engine for ultra-light aircraft. Thanks to several other builders for the parts that I purloined.

Engine and belt drive system for my revised DeMansfield Bolt.

DanYHKim

Rather than try to make your landing gear retract on your model, you should experiment with some basic SketchyPhysics exercises on simple models.

I assume you've installed SP already. Have you tried connecting two solids together with a hinge? This is a good first step to learning how the hinge joint and other rotating joints work.

You will also need to learn whether you want your model's main body to be static, so it won't fall when you start the simulation.

Next, you can connect a static object to a free object using a Servo joint, and then control the movement of the free object using a slider control. This should put you well on your way to making your landing gear work in a basic way.

deskpilot

SP gear.jpg Hi DanY, thanks for your reply. I'm not sure if this should be moved to another part of the forum so I'll leave that to the moderators.

My undercarriage is a separate model and my first SP.

The left hand actuator arm is motor driven around it's static bottom pivot....working.(With Other Parts Hidden)
The green arms swing freely on their static mounting.......working (WOPH)
The top leg assembly swings freely from its static mount (WOPH)
The angled actuator rod locks every thing up but, if I hide it all except the top joint, it moves with the motorised arm and swivels(the u-bracket) correctly.
I cannot move the full leg assembly in isolation.

I'm guessing that it's something to do with each parts characteristics ie frozen, staticmesh etc.
What should happen is as the arm is slowly rotated, the rod pulls the top of the blue leg towards the left and the green arms cause the joint to rotate, bringing the wheels up and out in an arch until it is parallel to the ground. The green arms are wide enough for the leg fold and fit in between them. If the wheel clashes with the top fixture, I can lengthen the lower leg.

I appreciate any help you can offer.

Cheers

tspco

SP is tough, try some simple stuff first, for example, spin the prop on your engine, which is very well done by the way.
If you get that to work reliably then move on to another item. On the engine/prop. Start by exploding the groups then make one group for the prop assembly, and one for the engine assembly. In the warehouse I have a simple wind generator.
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=eace30d21a3521305c5e8df5dc8d3d85
Start there to get some ideas how to proceed.