|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
COGNITO
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Cognito is a mechanical linkages choreographer plug-in for Carrara. It provides the ability to coordinate the motion of objects as if they were connected by gears, axels, or pistons, letting you control the motion of entire chains of objects with a single set of keyframes. |
|
|
|
|
Cognito supports:
- Axel
- This directly transfers the rotation of one object to another object.
- Cam
- This moves away from and back towards a shaft, depending upon the rotation
of the driving shaft.
- Chain
- This works like gears, transferring inverse rotation by the ratio of
number of teeth
- Crossed Chains
- This transfers rotation by ratio of teeth numbers, but does not reverse
the direction of the rotation
- Gears
- Toothed wheels there transfer inverse rotation according to the ratio of
their number of teeth.
- Piston
- This slides backwards and forwards, and is designed to be pushed by a
pushrod.
- Push Rod
- This connects an offset point rotating about a shaft with a piston. One
end goes around and around, the other goes in and out.
- Pushrod Piston and Cylinder
- These two work together are are used to simulate 'steam train' type
pistons that directly drive the wheels. The piston is connected to the
wheel, the cylinder pivots around a connection on the vehicles body, with
the piston sliding in and out of it.
- Rack
- This slides backwards or forwards according to the rotation of its driving
object, the number of teeth it has and the number of teeth per inch on the
rack.
- Radial Offset
- This makes an object rotate at a fixed distance around its hot point,
reacting to the driving rotation.
- Rocker
- This is a rotational oscillation, rotating clockwise and anti-clockwise through part of a revolution. 1 complete input
revolution, modified by the tooth ratio, gives one complete rocking cycle.
- Trip hammer
- This is a variant of rocker that spends most of its tuning very slowly
one way and a little of its time turning very quickly the other way. 1
complete input revolution, modified by the tooth rotation, gives 1
complete hammer cycle.
- Worm
- This moves backwards and forwards according to the rotation of the driving
object, the number of teeth on the driving object and the number of teeth
per inch that it has. It differs from a rack in the way it transfers
rotation to other objects.
These are the fundamental building blocks that Cognito provides, and you can
apply them to a variety of different objects:
- A single object
- A group of objects
- A light
- A camera
|
Motors
and Slaves
Cognito is about constructing drive chains. All drive chains
start with an object designated as a motor. This object has its
rotation set through the cognito interface and changed through key
framing. The rotation of the other objects is derived from the
rotation of the motor. The motor is not necessarily the necessarily
the part that would provide the motive force in a physical system. A
large gear or axels shaft is often a good thing to use as the motor.
The objects connected to the motor are slaves, and they specify
the name of the object that proceed them in the drive chain. This
can be either a motor or another slave. The rotation of the slave
will be determined from the rotation of the driving object and the
linkage between the two objects.
For example, consider a simple chain of three gears. The first is
connected to the motor and turns 300 times a second. It has, say, 12
teeth. The second gear has 60 teeth, and so will rotate at 60
revolutions a second. A small gear can be linked on its axel. This
also has 12 teeth, but will only rotate at 60 rpm, as it is sharing
an axel with the larger second gear. A third gear, also with 60
teeth being driven by the third gear would rotate at on fifth the
speed again, in this case 12 times a second.
|
Setup and Execution
Cognito does it's magic by transforming and rotating the objects
with Cognito modifiers and the key to this is giving Cognito a
consistent starting point. When building a Cognito animation, frame
0 is reserved as Cognito's starting point and does not get
calculated. The Cognito animation will begin with Frame 1.
Likewise, so that Cognito understands when it's already done it's
thing, Cognito animations must be saved at Frame 0. Use the Rewind
button and then the Previous Keyframe button (the left arrow next to
the Create Keyframes button) on the Sequencer tray before saving a file where you use
Cognito.
|
Data
Options
The first part of Cognito is a data component that appears on the
fourth properties page. This lets you define the objects basic behavior.
There are two buttons. One leads to the motor settings, the second
to the slave settings.
- Teeth is the number of teeth, spokes, or links in your
Cognito object.
- Check Motor when this Cognito object drives the
movement of other objects.
- Rotation specifies how far the motor turns. Change this
value in key frames to animate Cognito objects.
|
 |
- Check Slave when this Cognito object is driven by
another Cognito object.
- Enter the Motor's in the Driver field, it is case
sensitive and must be unique.
- Control how the slave moves by selecting the Linkage. Linkage
behaviors are detailed above.
- Pitch/Arc specifies the conversion factor for converting
radial movement into linear movement when Linkage is set
on Rack or Worm. Its unit is teeth or revolutions per inch.
- Phase Offset controls how far ahead of the motor's
rotation this slave is.
|
 |
|
Modifier
Options
The second part of Cognito is a modifier that can be added on the
modifiers page. You must add the modifier for an object to be
positioned by the Cognito plug-in. This modifier also lets you
specify some parameters of motion that are relevant only to that
object. After adding the Cognito modifier, press the Cognito
Modifier button to get to the Cognito dialog.
- Vector controls the direction of the rotation or
movement. Use the Around buttons add quick picks
for each axis. For rack and worm it should point along the
path of motion.
- Value usage changes based on the Linkage.
Cam: Distance between inner radius (start position)
and outer radius
Radial Offset: Radius from the center of rotation
(start position is at 12 o'clock)
Pushrod & Pushrod Piston: Radius from the
center of rotation of the wheel (start position is at 12
o'clock). Vector should be set to point along the pushrod.
Pushrod Cylinder: The same as the value set on the
pushrod piston.
Piston: The distance moved on a full stoke in the
direction of the vector (start position is in the middle).
|
|
|
How do I...
Install Cognito?
Extract and copy the files to the extensions or plugins directory.
For Carrara 8.1
On the PC, it is the Carrara8\Extensions directory.
If you installed Carrara to the default location, this is
C:\Program Files\DAZ 3D\Carrara8\Extensions or C:\Program Files (x86)\DAZ 3D\Carrara8\Extensions.
On the Mac, OS X.
- Open the Carrara 8 folder.
- Ctrl-click on the Carrara application and select Show Package Contents.
- In the newly opened Finder window, navigate to Contents\MacOS\Extensions.
- Extract the contents of the ZIP and copy them there.
For Carrara 7.2
On the PC, it is the Carrara 7 Pro\Extensions directory.
If you installed Carrara to the default location, this is
C:\Program Files\DAZ\Carrara 7 Pro\Extensions.
On the Mac, OS X.
- Open the Carrara 7 folder.
- Ctrl-click on the Carrara application and select Show Package Contents.
- In the newly opened Finder window, navigate to Contents\MacOS\Extensions.
- Extract the contents of the ZIP and copy them there.
For Carrara 6.2.1
On the PC, it is the Carrara 6 Pro\Extensions directory.
If you installed Carrara to the default location, this is
C:\Program Files\DAZ\Carrara 6 Pro\Extensions.
On the Mac, OS X.
- Open the Carrara 6 folder.
- Ctrl-click on the Carrara application and select Show Package Contents.
- In the newly opened Finder window, navigate to Contents\MacOS\Extensions.
- Extract the contents of the ZIP and copy them there.
Enter my serial number?
After purchasing Cognito you will be emailed a serial number. If you
open a scene with Cognito or use Cognito in a scene, the Enter
Serial Number window will display. Enter your serial number in the
field provided and click OK to continue. |
Tips and Tricks
In the real world, gears have to be carefully shaped and all the
parts of the drive chain need to be carefully assembled, positioned
and lubricated. Carrara is a virtual environment and your aim is to
make animations efficiently, not to be a virtual engineer. When
using Cognito, remember the following:
- It doesn't matter what shape on object is it can still be part
of a drive chain.
- Objects do not have to be in contact for a power transfer to
occur.
- Silly gearing ratios - 3000:1 - work perfectly.
- Apply one motion to an object, put it in a group and apply
another to the group. It'll work in Carrara.
- You need to attach the Carrara modifier to get motion, but
passive parts can still be in the drive chain.
|
Evaluation Mode
Cognito supports an evaluation mode which allows you to try out Cognito before purchasing it. When the Cognito Enter Serial
Number window is displayed, just click Cancel to go into evaluation mode.
During evaluation mode, Cognito will only allow a single level of linkage, and only the Gear linkage will be available.
|
Release Notes
June 08, 2010
- Changed where serial numbers are saved to a more modern OS friendly location. This fixes a problem with saving serial numbers on the 64-bit Windows Carrara when UAC is turned on.
|
Pricing
$29.95 US dollars for a single user license. The single user
license includes the right to use the product with up to 5 render
nodes using Carrara 5.0 Pro or better. Pricing is also
available for a render node site license for use with Grid.
Ordering
Place your order online here
using our secure server. Use the same link for PayPal, credit cards by fax
or phone, purchase orders, and checks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
