Model curtain on tracks

[andybaumgar]

Hi, I am trying to model a curtain of a fixed length which runs around rectangular track with rounded edges.  I would like to adjust a parameter which slides the curtain so I can explore different configurations etc. 

curtain along a track

With a sweep I can model this using the 2 distance parameters, but only when the curtain overlaps the start point.  Are there other Fusion 360 techniques I could use to accomplish this?  It is conceptually similar to moving a train along tracks, but I haven't found any posts on that subject either.

Thanks!

[jhackney1972]

As I illustrate in my Screencast, you can create a Rigid structure to travel along a component path but this is restricted to the tangent between bodies and the track.  The limitation is that the connecting material, the curtain, cannot dynamically flex.  I imagine you could model a large number of separate bodies close enough together traveling along a path but I have never tried it.  I am not sure Fusion 360 could maintain so many tangent relationships to be effective.  Even this small example will derail, to the opposite side of the track if you move it too fast.

[andybaumgar]

Thanks, I just settled for using a pie shaped cylinder to cut away the section I don't want.  The rotation of the object is driven by an expression angle.  It's not perfectly accurate since the length changes depending on the angle, but good enough for my purposes.

Tried to come up with something clever involving 2 tools and some cut, join, intersection operations, but everything I tried involved logical operations which I don't know how to implement in Fusion 360.


If sweep just supported an offset value for the start none of this would be necessary.  This exists in non-cad 3D modeling programs like Cinema 4D.