Random Cables
Last updated
Last updated
Random Cables creates catenary or straight cables from selected faces in multiple selected mesh objects. The resulting curve objects representing the cables will be connected depending on how many face islands or groups are selected from these objects.
Here are the redo properties and what they do:
This has 2 options: Catenary and Curve. Catenary generates cables with a slack effect using the literal z axis as the ground for the slack direction. Curve will generate straight cables whose attitude and direction can be shaped by multiple properties including the normals saved using the Normal Picker operator.
This has 2 options: Bezier and Poly. This only appears when using Cable Type: Catenary and allows you to switch between using Bezier or Poly type cables. Bezier curve has additional controls in its segment points for smoother transitions while Poly is more simplistic with just one control point per segment.
This appears when you use Cable Type: Catenary. This lets you set the minimum and maximum slack effect for the cables.
This only appears when using Cable Type: Curve. This lets you offset the curve in the literal or global x, y and z axis.
This has 2 properties: Min and Max. This allows you to set the minimum and maximum offset of the cables into the direction using the saved normal information using the Normal Picker operator.
This has 2 properties: Noise and Wiggle. Noise will offset the cables in random directions.
Wiggle will offset each segment of the cable/curve in random directions - the resolution can be controlled using the Steps property.
This randomizes the slack effect for Catenary, noise and wiggle for Curve using a seed number.
The number of cables that's going to be generated. Depending on the settings, this number only represents the total amount of cables that can be generated but can sometimes be less.
This randomizes the location of the start and end points of the cables.
This has 3 options: None, Limited and Full. None has no effect.
Limited will remove cables that are have start/end points on the same face island/group.
Full will connect cables only for 2 different face islands using the Sort Method property unless randomized.
Using Limited and Full on a single face island will not generate cables since it needs separate face islands for their start and end points.
This randomizes which face islands will have the start/end points of the cables. The randomization will only happen when using Island Limit: Limited or Full and will randomize these end points between two face islands.
This has 4 options: None, X, Y and Z. This lets you determine the direction of how the face islands are sorted when connecting the cables allowing you to create the power line effect.
In the image above, the cables are sorted in the z axis because in this particular instance the face islands are mostly going in the that direction.
This creates a margin from your face selection allowing you to bunch the cables much closer together or avoid generating cables from the edges of your face selection which ends up on a sharp angled edge.
This allows you to offset the cables towards or away from the face selection.
This lets you remove cables that doesn't meet the minimum distance or length. This is useful for clearing out very short cables when using Island Limit: None.
This has 2 properties: Radius and Resolution. Radius determines the thickness of the cable.
Resolution controls the resolution of the cables making them rounder with higher numbers.
This allows you to control the amount of edge resolution running along the curve body.
This lets you control the segment point number or resolution of the curve making them smoother.
This allows you to use the extrude effect to widen the curve body.
This has 3 options: Z-Up, Minimum and Tangent. The default is set to Minimum but if you spot any weird twisting on the cables, you can try the other options to fix it.
Twist smoothing amount for tangents used by the Twist Mode property.
The twist properties are here only to correct if the cables/curves displays any weird twists and knots. Rarely does it happen though but they are exposed just in case.
This lets you rotate the cable on its segments or handles.
This can be used in combination with the Extrude property.
This lets you set the radius/thickness of each segment of the curve.
This randomizes the radius of each curve segment using a seed number.
The Material Index property lets the resulting cloth sim mesh inherit a material from the active or work mesh.
The default value of -1 means it will use the active material in the work mesh if that material exists.
Using 0 and above means you will be using the 1st material in the material stack when using 0, the 2nd material when using 1 and so forth.
Using a material stack number when that material does not exist will assign no material to the resulting panel cut mesh.
Symmetrize the cables or use an applied version of the source mesh to generate asymmetrical results.
Creates a single object containing all the cable/curve instances or separate them as individual objects.
This removes generated cables that are overlapping or clipping visible objects in the scene. Be careful with processing overheads when dealing with a lot of cables and multiple objects for overlap detection.
Hide objects you don't need for the overlap detection to speed up the process. This works differently from executing object collision in Panel Cloth which operates via selection.
This allows the cable to overlap or clip other cables generated in the current operation. Turning this off will remove cables that are overlapping or clipping other cables.
The will create even more processing overhead so be careful with the amount of cables before using it.
