Tangle Toy Modelling Problem

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I am a student of architecture and am working on a project in which I am having trouble creating in 3ds Max. The structure I am trying to make is based on a "tangle toy" (pictures attached), which consists of quarter circle modules that twist to create different shapes. I am trying to recreate this system in 3ds max, making Arcs of 90degrees and connecting the ends so that I am able to pull the parts around to create different shapes.

I have experimented using a simple rigging system of forward kinematics (I am not an advanced user of 3ds max so had to do a lot of research on this!), but this will not allow me to close the loop due to the obvious dependency issues. Does anyone know of a way to create a closed loop connection system in which I would be able to pull the parts around without distorting the individual modules?

Any ideas or solutions would be greatly appreciated!
Kind Regards,
Nic

[luxxeon]

The model itself, as a static representation of the reference, wouldn't be that difficult to recreate.  However, I must assume you actually wish to animate this, and have it function just as the reference toy would in the real world?  If so, I think you're going to need some assistance from Maxscript for some of the high math functions.  If realistic and faithful animation of the toy is your goal here, then you might want to take your inquiry to some of the popular maxscript forums, if you don't get your answer here through simpler means.  I'm quite sure it would be possible to achieve through scripting, with some 3D vector, or quaternion algebra.  I've seen some incredible math functions done with Maxscripting, and have created some relatively simple ones myself.  Although this might be outside my realm of knowledge.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply, that's really helpful. The model, as you say, would ideally move and animate as the real life toy. I've made some static representations but these are difficult to edit and ideally I would like to see the animated movement. I will look into maxscript and study quaternion algebraic functions to see if it is possible for me... I am completely new in this area. Do you know how much it would cost for professional help in this situation? Or where I might find someone to help me with this scripting? Perhaps I should inquire on maxscripting forums as you suggested?

Thanks again for your help.
-- Kentforlife.net - the email service for alumni of the University of Kent

[luxxeon]

You might try the forums at Scriptspot.com.  There's a lot of good Maxscript programmers there.  I'm not sure what kind of math this will require actually.  I know that Maxscript is capable of some complex math functionality, and there's been some great mathematical plugins done with maxscript, like Mathsurf 2 and Para3D.