SketchUp doesn't start anymore on my PC (Windows 7) either. As soon as I doubleclick it, the BugSplat-Window appears. I tried to install the newest version, reinstalled it completely, updated my graphics driver, looked into the registry, but nothing's helping. That's really odd, because last week it worked just fine. My PC has some issues right now, slow startup and some other problems, might that be the cause? I have no idea...

1. I have used the left button only until now, is this such a huge problem for you?

2. I have SP 3.2 and scaling the joints with the scaling tool works just fine. Actualy, the models of the joints are made with SU too, so if you enter their group you can also modify them

3. I have not really worked with the gear-tool, so I have no answer here, sry

4. I think they are just some random units with no representation, just as they are used by the integrator. Some real units would be very fine, I think, but unfortunately SP wasn't updated for quite a while

5. Yeah, that happens sometimes, but I lack the insight in the code to say you, what causes it. Better save your model before running the simulation. And don't copy any joints as the integrator can't handle multiple joints with the same adress

Ok, now this works.
Now I have another problem: I can't read out the frame in the scripted box.
if i do so, an error message appears.
When I write something like

Math.sin(frame/100.00)

in the controller of a servo, it works, but if I write

setVar("a",frame/100.00)

and into the controller

getVar("a")

the error message occurs.
That's really odd...

edit: It seems, that my old SP models work well, but if I copy the code into a new Scripted-box ob an object, it doesn't work anymore. Maybe I should get an older Version of SP?

Hi there

I got a new notebook and now SU8 is finally working. I wanted to script something in Sp3, but it didn't work right. There was an error message, which told me "undefined method 'atan2' for nil:NilClass". So I made a simple testing program and even that didn't work. Here's the code:

if frame==0
   $a=1
   $b=2
end

$c=$a+$b

puts "1+2=#{$c}"

it should just handle some variables and send the result to the ruby-console, but by hitting play I always got this error message:
"undefined method '+' for nil:NilClass"
Even if I used local variables, it didn't change anything. By using getVar and setVar it worked, but the result was always 0.00
What's going wrong?

Thank you, now I have managed to program something useful. This is, what I made so far for testing. Next is to adjust it for the robot.
Thanks for the help this far

atest.skp

I have Sketchyphysics 3.x and I really should try out SU8, so I can watch your models >_<
But thanks for your effort
Edit: SU8 doesn't work on my notebook, either
Could you please upload it again for SU6?

I've played around a bit with functions and came to something like this:

$temp=0;
def move(div1)
  if $frame>=$temp && $frame<div1+$temp;
    $value=1-($frame-$temp)/div1;       #some movement
  end;
  if $frame==div1+$temp;
    $temp=$temp+div1;
  end;
end;

div1 is some divider to set a time, that the joint should move, temp is the temporary variable to set the time to begin the next function, $value is the parameter to transfer to the joint itself. After running the movement in div1 frames, div1 is added to temp, so that the temp'th frame is the new number zero frame for the next function. If I insert something like this:

move(200);
move(300);

It should start the second function after finishing the first, but somehow it doesn't even compile. It says:

Undefined method '>=' for nil.NILClass

I don't know, what that means...

Oh, the function with grabbing on touch is funny
And I didn't know, that you can put some stuff into the OnTick-field, thats really convenient. But somehow the models I'm downloading lack of hinges and so on. They are there, the simulation runs as it should, but I can't find the objects to manipulate their attributes That's really weird..

Edit: I think, now I know, how to make funktions, but now I'm wondering something else: How can I read out the current frame and set some offset onto it, so the function waits the offset till continuing? Or how can I make timed events else?

I don't understand exactly, what you want, so I guess: there are two pistons connected to one box? Maybe it helps if you connect it to just one piston, that is grouped with another box, that is connected to another piston. Hard to explain^^
But so you would avoid some problems, I guess. The second box can be set to invisible and ignore, so it is no obstacle anymore.

No problem, I would really like to see how you modified the model, but I have SU6 and since SU7 didn't work on my notebook, SU8 might neither.
The pages look really helpfull, thanks, I will read them when I have more time.

Hi there

I have built a palletizing robot and inserted some servos for the movement. I have programmed them so that you can controll the whole robot with the arrow keys, WASD and space. The endeffector is moving in cartesian coordinates (X, Y, Z, Phi for rotating horizontally) with implemented inverse kinematics and has a gripper to pick up objects. I have put up the current file in the attachment.

But now my problem:
I want to make it somewhat programmable, so that you have commands for PTP, CP, circular interpolation and so on, but to do this in an efficient way I need to know how to make functions/subprograms with transferrable parameters (coordinates for example). Does anyone know, how to do this?
In this way I would get a fully automated and easy programmable robot arm.

Control: W/S: up/down, A/D: rotate, arrow keys: left/right/forward/back, space: close gripper

hi
what are ontick and similar commands? where can i find them and how are they used?

edit:
OK, i found out that i missed the latest version -.-
but still: how are they used? what can you do with them? how do i turn a var back when the body isnt touched anymore?

thanks but meanwhile i've found out in SP-wiki^^
my code so far:

if frame==1;setVar("acc",0.5);end; 
if key("a")==1;setVar("acc",0.6);
elsif key("s")==1;setVar("acc",0.7);
elsif key("d")==1;setVar("acc",0.8);
elsif key("f")==1;setVar("acc",0.9);
elsif key("g")==1;setVar("acc",1);
elsif key("r")==1;setVar("acc",0.4);
elsif key("e")==1;setVar("acc",0.5);end; 
getVar("acc")-0.5

with a,s,d,f,g for gears, e for empty and r for reverse

Hi

i want to shift between gears using variables, for example pressing A for driving in first gear, S for second and so on. Would it work if I let the keys change a variable, for example setVar('acc',0.0);if Key('a')==1 setVar('acc',10.0) else if Key('S')==1 setVar('acc',20.0);end;
(there are lots of mistakes in the syntax, could anyone help?)
Also, is it possible to set a variable into a normal window like if you have a motorand write Accel: getVar('acc') ?

controllable oscillators:

Math.sin(frame/(10*slider('speed')))/3.0

just an example, numbers are replacable, also you can add constants, use Math.cos or use keys and so on

what are these commands and where can i find out more about them excited
or are you writing something about them soon?

ah, ok, thanks^^

@unknownuser said:

You can do motors like you describe by setting the controller to:
0.5-slider('motor')

cool
are there other commands you can write there?

that shouldnt be necessary...
when i make an object to a magnet and write some number into the strength field and then push on run nothing happens... it runs like normal, just the block is static and no force slider is there as it should be...and i cant get out of the run mode by reset, just by clicking on select or some other tool, but then the run button doesnt work anymore at all...and when i close su the pc shows me a message, that su doesnt work properly

after reopening su everything is normal again
oh, yeah, im using su 6

btw. i have found a solution for my robot joints:
i have made two motors in opposite direction, one set with slider and one with the key code (rightx for example), both with the same settings, so the one motor pushes exactly against the other until the one your controlling is stronger or weaker

heres an example (model downloaded from warehouse)

edit:
there are functions on both the arrow keys and wasd

and ive found another error: while running sp and puching some of the wasd buttons he sometimes leeves the run mode and selects the tools (A)rc or (S)cale

some experiment on a robot

hello

i've awaited sp3 and now its there (kinda). yippie^^
i hope the bugs are quickly removed, for example the magnets arent working in my sp and it causes errors...

@cphillips
but i have another idea to aprove something about the keyboard controllers. i dont know how difficult it is to realize this, but it would be very cool:
you could put a tag near to the joint controls (or something you can additionally write into the controller line), so that the joints wont just move when you press and move back when you unpress. its better to have such an option if you want to build a robot or something like that, so that the servo or piston for example wont just move to his maximum when you press the button, but move and stops when the button isnt pressed. and in the case of motors it would set the speed up or down (i think im repeating myself...sorry)

motors with the zero point in the middle would also be cool. so if you move the slider left it moves forward and backward when you move it right. but i think you wrote something that this is planned for spIV, right?

ok, i hope that my wishes come true^^