[LDCad] Custom flex object question

[Orion Pobursky]

I guess this is a question for Roland but anyone else can chime in.

Attached is a template and donor parts for a custom flex object I created for 8458. It basically mimics 2 flex axles connected by a static part. The allows LDCad to position and rotated the connecting piece along the path curve. My question is this: can I make the axles on either side of the static center different lengths?

[Roland Melkert]

My question is this: can I make the axles on either side of the static center different lengths?

If you want to bend all four independently you need to use 4 instances of the axle template, it's basically the same as the minifig part I modeled in this thread:

https://forums.ldraw.org/thread-22938.html

[Orion Pobursky]

If you want to bend all four independently you need to use 4 instances of the axle template, it's basically the same as the minifig part I modeled in this thread:

https://forums.ldraw.org/thread-22938.html

That's not what I want to do.

   

The top axles are longer than the bottom ones. If I stick a control point on the center piece then I'd have to position and rotate it manually. I don't want to do that, I want its postion and rotation to follow the overall curve.

[Roland Melkert]

The top axles are longer than the bottom ones. If I stick a control point on the center piece then I'd have to position and rotate it manually. I don't want to do that, I want its postion and rotation to follow the overall curve.

I see, it might work if you use a bit of roll otherwise the connection to the pins will deform.

But in the end the generator was more or less designed with round/symmetric parts in mind. Stretching the two axles as one will only work up to a certain point.

Minimizing the number of control points might help as it will prevent weird jumps in the shape which will be amplified otherwise (like the misalignment of the two axle ends connected to the pins)

You could use this template to roughly place the pins part, then copy paste the posori from the fallback and use loose axles to do the real placements.

[Orion Pobursky]

I see, it might work if you use a bit of roll otherwise the connection to the pins will deform.

But in the end the generator was more or less designed with round/symmetric parts in mind. Stretching the two axles as one will only work up to a certain point.

Minimizing the number of control points might help as it will prevent weird jumps in the shape which will be amplified otherwise (like the misalignment of the two axle ends connected to the pins)

You could use this template to roughly place the pins part, then copy paste the posori from the fallback and use loose axles to do the real placements.

It works fine as is. I'll prolly just keep it. I was just curious if the spec supported an asymmetrical look.