making cables bend with object?

[pappuftp]

i assume the cables are splines?
in that case a book called 'inside 3d studio max 4' by new riders has a tut on such a problem.. too long 2 explain here but its better u get teh book.. very good.. basically it involves controllers..

[Alderian]

yes that is true. the cables are splines.
Ill check out that book

[Alderian]

well on second thought i dont want to spend that much money just for these cables. Isn´t there any tuts on it on the internet.

[Alderian]

wow i think i solved the problem by using linkedXform and editspline

[Gilgamesh]

I had a situation that I solved with the ClothSim plugin. And what an awesome plugin it is.....ahhhh.....
Anyway, here is a tutorial on how it is done (http://www.3dluvr.com/content/artz/3dsmax/std/acme-cable.php)

Happy bending.

Just out of curiosity, if you have the time, could you elaborate on what you did to get it to work with linked XForm and Editspline?

[Iain McFadzen]

I think I can elaborate, since I've done something similar recently.

You align a dummy object to each vert of the spline, then link the dummy to the robot arm. You then apply an Edit Spline modifier followed by a Linked X-form modifier for each spline vert in turn, linked x-forming each one to it's own dummy. Hey presto, as the dummies move so does the spline.

In my case I was actually trying to attach my spline to the surface of a deforming mesh, so I had to assign an Attachment Constraint to each dummy instead of simply linking them, but it works the same way.

[Alderian]

you could get the same result but the simcloth is way simpler.

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