Simulation Accuracy

Introduction to reactor

Using Hand-Animated Rigid Bodies

 

Autodesk 3ds Max Tutorials > Special Effects > Introduction to reactor > 

Setting Up the Simulation

In this section you will create a toy box and 39 copies of your toy. Using the preview window, you will drop the toy copies into your box, let them settle, and then pass their positions back to 3ds Max. As you will see, the preview window acts as an interactive modeling tool, allowing you to rearrange objects physically and then use changes made in the preview window to update 3ds Max.

Create the toy box:

1. In your scene (away from the other objects), create five boxes with Length and Width=400.0, and Height=25.0.
2. Arrange the boxes to form a larger, hollow box.

   

3. In the Left viewport, rotate the sloping box 20 degrees counterclockwise to flatten it out somewhat. With the sloping box selected, increase both its Length and Width parameters to 600, and move it downward 240 units.

   

4. Select and right-click the box used as the base of the toy box, and in the Transform quadrant of the quad menu, choose Convert To > Convert To Editable Mesh.
5. In the Edit Geometry rollout of the Modify panel, click Attach List.
6. In the Attach List dialog, select the other four boxes, which make up the sides of the toy box, and click Attach.

   You now have a single mesh representing the toy box.

7. Open the Rigid Body Properties dialog and set the Simulation Geometry property to Concave Mesh.

Update your scene from the preview window:

1. On the toolbar, click Select and Move.
2. Move the toy inside the box.
   NoteMake sure that the toy is not touching the box.

   

3. In a side viewport, Shift+Move the toy, and position the first copy above the original.
   NoteMake sure that the copy is not touching the original toy.

   

4. In the Clone Options dialog, set Number Of Copies=39 and click OK.

   

5. Select the RB Collection helper object and in the Modify panel > RB Collection Properties rollout, click Add.
6. Select all of the new toy objects and the toy box and click Select to add them to the rigid body collection.
7. Click Preview Animation and let the toys fall into the box and settle.

   

8. When the toys have settled in the box, from the Preview Window menu bar choose MAX menu > Update MAX.
9. Close the preview window and click in one of the viewports to update the display. The toys will have been updated so that they have the positions and rotations you updated in the preview window.