A new version of Cineversity has been launched. This legacy site and its tutorials will remain accessible for a limited transition period

Visit the New Cineversity
   
 
Bike Suspension Rig
Posted: 29 May 2019 03:03 AM   [ Ignore ]  
Total Posts:  8
Joined  2017-11-26

Hi all,

I’ve got a job to do that involves rigging a motorbike’s suspension, it doesn’t have to be dynamic, keyframed movement is fine.

However, I’m not sure how best to do it and wondering if anyone could point me to a tutorial or specific method?

I can’t post a picture of the model as it belongs to a client, but can post a similar looking setup (pic attached).

It’s a swingarm front suspension, and as the wheel moves up, the spring and dampener compress and move upwards slightly with an anchor point on the bike’s body.

Is there a way I can anchor the spring and dampener to the body, and still have them attached to the front swingarm so they tilt upwards and compress?

Any advice appreciated.

Profile
 
 
Posted: 29 May 2019 04:30 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 1 ]  
Administrator
Avatar
Total Posts:  12043
Joined  2011-03-04

Hi Teddi,

Here is a little sketch, just the simplest way I can think of to make this mono-shock happen.

Will this work for you? I have marked the object that holds the key frame for the animation.

Scene file
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/GByh0EkbuKbtepBf1R7V7a4YeK11pTV5iTC656vbXnK

Let me know if you have a question about it. It could also be done with Inverse Kinematic, but to keep it simpleā€¦

Cheers

 Signature 

Dr. Sassi V. Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
Cinema 4D Mentor since 2004
Maxon Master Trainer, VES, DCS

Photography For C4D Artists: 200 Free Tutorials.
https://www.youtube.com/user/DrSassiLA/playlists

NEW:

NEW: Cineversity [CV4]

Profile
 
 
Posted: 29 May 2019 04:36 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 2 ]  
Total Posts:  8
Joined  2017-11-26

That’s great, thanks Dr Sassi.

I’ll have a look at that now.

Was a bit stumped on what sort of rig to try and build, most tutorials I could find on suspension are dynamic rigs which seemed a bit complex for this, I just need a keyframed rig where the wheel and suspension move up and down.

Profile
 
 
Posted: 29 May 2019 04:45 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 3 ]  
Administrator
Avatar
Total Posts:  12043
Joined  2011-03-04

You’re very welcome, Teddi.

If you have everything modeled already, except for the shock-absorber unit, it needs three parts.

In a nutshell:
The oil/air-cylinder-part is attached on one side of the “fork” and uses the other Null as a target while having an up-Vector.
The other part, the tube/cylinder works oppositely, also with a target and up vector.
Both Nulls’ distance determines the Springs length.

Enjoy your project.

 Signature 

Dr. Sassi V. Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
Cinema 4D Mentor since 2004
Maxon Master Trainer, VES, DCS

Photography For C4D Artists: 200 Free Tutorials.
https://www.youtube.com/user/DrSassiLA/playlists

NEW:

NEW: Cineversity [CV4]

Profile
 
 
Posted: 29 May 2019 04:50 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 4 ]  
Total Posts:  8
Joined  2017-11-26

Thanks again for your help Dr Sassi.

Everything is modeled as I’m working from a CAD model which I’ve converted.

I’ll have a go at rigging it as you suggest.

Much appreciated.

Profile
 
 
Posted: 29 May 2019 05:09 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 5 ]  
Administrator
Avatar
Total Posts:  12043
Joined  2011-03-04

You’re very welcome, Teddi.

Since you mentioned that all parts are given, here is a way to use even the spring (while its change is kind of limited, as the whole object is scaled)

Anyway, I thought it was worth to share it.
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/h53bv70BnTOu0msqqTI9Du21MbwAsMaFZI0AVxYKXuf

Cheers

 Signature 

Dr. Sassi V. Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
Cinema 4D Mentor since 2004
Maxon Master Trainer, VES, DCS

Photography For C4D Artists: 200 Free Tutorials.
https://www.youtube.com/user/DrSassiLA/playlists

NEW:

NEW: Cineversity [CV4]

Profile
 
 
Posted: 29 May 2019 07:04 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 6 ]  
Total Posts:  8
Joined  2017-11-26

I’ll have a look, thanks again Dr Sassi.

Profile
 
 
Posted: 29 May 2019 08:30 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 7 ]  
Total Posts:  8
Joined  2017-11-26

Hi Dr Sassi,

I’ve got your rig working, but for some reason I can’t scale it down to better fit my model.

If I do that, the length of the spring becomes far too short, even if I make new nulls for its length at the new scale it’s too short.

To scale it down I’ve reduced it’s scale by 0.1, I’ve tried freezing that transformation too but that doesn’t make any difference.

Any ideas on how I can scale the rig down without changing the spring length relative to the rig?

Cheers

Profile
 
 
Posted: 30 May 2019 12:38 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 8 ]  
Administrator
Avatar
Total Posts:  12043
Joined  2011-03-04

Hi Teddi,

I was not sure which one you tried to scale down, so here are both in 10% size.

Scene files
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/kDp685N89lenxzN3wrC4K2GfsvDK1ESdpMpD0w6z03Z

I had not imagined that you use them directly, but if you need any other adjustment, please let me know.

My best wishes for your project.

 Signature 

Dr. Sassi V. Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
Cinema 4D Mentor since 2004
Maxon Master Trainer, VES, DCS

Photography For C4D Artists: 200 Free Tutorials.
https://www.youtube.com/user/DrSassiLA/playlists

NEW:

NEW: Cineversity [CV4]

Profile
 
 
Posted: 30 May 2019 03:18 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 9 ]  
Total Posts:  8
Joined  2017-11-26

Thanks again, I’ve actually used a similar rig to yours made by a friend.

That had an issue with scaling too, but I made the helix shape longer within the scaled-down rig and that fixed it.

Thanks a lot for your help.

Profile
 
 
Posted: 30 May 2019 03:30 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 10 ]  
Administrator
Avatar
Total Posts:  12043
Joined  2011-03-04

Thanks for the reply, Teddi, you’re welcome!

It seems like you got all you need for this part of the project.

Yes, if the idea would have been to make a part that can be implemented on any scale, I would have included a slider to do so. Which, in return, would have significantly increased the complexity of the rig. This was not my target here.

I primarily share ideas and knowledge here, and I prefer to keep it simple (if possible), as you can see with the second file.

Having said that:
The simple reason for the problem is that the measurements are done after the scale, so the result of the distance is given to the Helix, and then this Helix is scaled again. A scaleable set up needs to care about this.
Here is an example that has the scale option included, move the HUD-slider
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/1hRyTw2bpm1aIdlaKdZfrusmGTwnSEE2c1q4ltGYfJW

Enjoy your weekend.

 Signature 

Dr. Sassi V. Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
Cinema 4D Mentor since 2004
Maxon Master Trainer, VES, DCS

Photography For C4D Artists: 200 Free Tutorials.
https://www.youtube.com/user/DrSassiLA/playlists

NEW:

NEW: Cineversity [CV4]

Profile
 
 
Posted: 30 May 2019 06:40 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 11 ]  
Total Posts:  8
Joined  2017-11-26

I’ve downloaded it and will have a look, thanks a lot.

I’m not experience with rigging, I mainly do product and archviz where animating the camera and perhaps a few simple product elements is the only animation required, it’s mostly shader work and lighting etc.

But sometimes a client asks for something I haven’t done before, so thanks a lot for the help.

Profile
 
 
Posted: 30 May 2019 08:54 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 12 ]  
Administrator
Avatar
Total Posts:  12043
Joined  2011-03-04

Thanks as well, Teddi.

Yes, I can see that this is a different work compared to your primary area. Again, my idea is to get you the skills to feel comfortable, and I understand that this was something different.
If you have a similar case, you can share the parts needed of the model privately with me, and I will discuss here only my scene-parts, keeping it secure. As usual, scene files are the base of a good exchange here.

My best wishes

 Signature 

Dr. Sassi V. Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
Cinema 4D Mentor since 2004
Maxon Master Trainer, VES, DCS

Photography For C4D Artists: 200 Free Tutorials.
https://www.youtube.com/user/DrSassiLA/playlists

NEW:

NEW: Cineversity [CV4]

Profile
 
 
Posted: 10 June 2019 06:48 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 13 ]  
Total Posts:  8
Joined  2017-11-26

Thanks again Dr Sassi.

That project is now wrapped (not had a day off for a couple of weeks, hence slow reply) and I learned some stuff about rigging which was a bonus.

Thanks for your help and time, it’s much appreciated.

Profile
 
 
Posted: 10 June 2019 09:12 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 14 ]  
Administrator
Avatar
Total Posts:  12043
Joined  2011-03-04

You’re very welcome, Teddi, thanks for the feedback.

I’m glad you finished it with a good feeling!

 Signature 

Dr. Sassi V. Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
Cinema 4D Mentor since 2004
Maxon Master Trainer, VES, DCS

Photography For C4D Artists: 200 Free Tutorials.
https://www.youtube.com/user/DrSassiLA/playlists

NEW:

NEW: Cineversity [CV4]

Profile