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View Full Version : Parenting an object to nCloth

Kurtoon
07-16-2007, 04:44 AM
A pretty simple task that's proving to be very frustrating. I have an nCloth sphere hitting an nCloth surface which reacts and supports the sphere. The sphere was intended to be a stand in object, and now I can't get anything to parent properly to it. I've tried various combinations of nConstraints with no luck. All I need is for objects to follow the sphere as it drops, just as they would if I parented them to it. Unfortunately, parenting has no effect with nCloth.

Many thanks for your suggestions.
optimus008
07-16-2007, 02:37 PM
I'm have the same problem, trying to parent or even attact a dynamic hair cuve to an nCloth object.

Looks like you can't parent geometry to nCloth objects. Duncan any help would be great.
Duncan
07-16-2007, 03:56 PM
Cloth works by moving vertex positions, unlike rigid bodies which work by affecting a transform. Thus you can't parent to cloth objects and expect the objects to follow the positions. You need to somehow derive a transform from vertex positions of the output cloth mesh. You can use geometry constraints, but they generally leave too many degrees of freedom.

Follicle nodes can derive a transform (with correct rotation) based on a point on mesh. An easy way to set one up is to select your output cloth mesh and do createHair with one follicle. Delete the hairsystem and pfxHair node, leaving just the follicle and parent your object to the follicle.

Duncan
optimus008
07-16-2007, 04:19 PM
Thank you Duncan,!

I was trying to make a dynamic hair curve that would act as a rope attached to a nCloth balloon. But could get the curve to fallow, you have saved me so much time.

Jack
Kurtoon
07-16-2007, 04:46 PM
Thank you Duncan, genius as always. This works perfectly. If you're attending SIGGRAPH and I happen to run into you I'm buying you a beer.
Neill
07-17-2007, 01:31 PM
I'm using wrap deformer to attach my curve to nCloth geometry mesh. I do this to transfer dynamics from nCloth to my joints in the chain (with splineIK solver). It works, but not very good. May be there is another way to bake nCloth animation to curve... as Duncan said, create several follicles for each curve control point for example
Als
07-18-2007, 08:36 PM
Well, ncloth objects can follow objects very nicely.
Copy your object before it becomes ncloth. Then you can constraint facets component to component, with connection order -> components, and weld, then animate target strength, or glue or both.
Now animate non ncloth object and ncloth will follow!
Use weld option for spot on and rubber and spring for close shave!


Als
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07-18-2007, 08:36 PM
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