Tutorial: Creating a Vehicle with Modular Vehicle Systems
In this tutorial, you will learn the basics of the Modular Vehicle Systems by modelling a simple front wheel drive (FWD) vehicle.
Before looking at this tutorial, you should be familiar with Modular Vehicle Systems.
This tutorial will guide you through the steps of creating a complete vehicle, which will be equivalent to a sample vehicle provided in the Vortex Studio Sample package located in C:\CM Labs\Vortex Studio Content <version>\Samples\Vehicles\Car - Hatchback\, where <version> is the currently installed version.
This folder contains a complete vehicle, but also provides the source graphical model and tuning tables used for this tutorial. Note that other complete vehicles can be found under C:\CM Labs\Vortex Studio Content <version>\Samples\Vehicles.
Creating the Chassis
In this step, we import an existing Graphics Gallery into the Vortex Studio Editor and prepare the file for work by adding an assembly to receive the various parts and constraints.
NOTE: In the recommended Vortex workflow, a 3D artist provides the Graphics Gallery and it already contains the required 3D model, along with its meshes, textures and graphics materials.
Task | Action | References | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Create a new mechanism | From the Vortex Studio Editor Home screen, click the Mechanism box. | |
| 2 | Rename mechanism to Car | Select Mechanism in the Explorer panel, then either:
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| 3 | Save local copy of Graphics Gallery | From the Home page, click Open and select the Car - Hatchback.vxgraphicgallery file located in the Graphics subfolder of the folder mentioned above. Save As a copy of the file in your working folding. |
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| 4 | Add Graphics Gallery | Switch back to your mechanism's tab. Select Graphics in the Toolbox. Double-click Galleries From Files.... In the resulting panel, select Car - Hatchback and click Ok. (Since you opened the Car Graphics Gallery in the previous step and have the tab open, it will automatically be shown in the Opened Resources section of the Add Graphics Gallery dialog box.) |
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| 5 | Examine Graphics Gallery | In the Explorer panel, the 3D model is located within a Graphics Gallery than can be expanded via the small triangle on the left. It contains the 3D model and all its associated files (e.g., textures). NOTE: The x axis is the forward direction of the vehicle. This is the standard, and all vehicle galleries must follow this convention. NOTE: You can see the various files but cannot change them. To do so, the Graphics Gallery must be opened in a separate window. Leave this aside for now. | |
| 6 | Examine 3D model | You should now see the car model in the centre of the viewport. Follow the next link for more information on how to navigate in the 3D Vies, Using the 3D View . |  |
| 7 | Add assembly | Select Basics in the Toolbox. Double-click Empty Assembly to add it. | |
| 8 | Add part for body | Right-click on the Car Hatchback > Body graphics node in the Graphics Gallery and click Create Part... to create a part in the assembly (this will be the body for the vehicle). | |
| 9 | Save Car mechanism | You can now save the mechanism file by clicking Save. In the resulting browser window, find the desired destination folder, and click Save. | |
| 10 | Add collision geometry | Right-click on the Body part that was added to the Assembly and select Create Collision Geometry > Convex Mesh....Enter Wheel.* in the Excluded Graphics Nodes field so the geometry is created for the body only, not the wheels. In the resulting panel, click Ok to create the collision geometry. In the Explorer panel, Double-click on Assembly to open it in a tab. | |
| 11 | Set material | Click on ConvexMesh_Body. In its Properties panel, select the material Chassis from the dropdown of the Material field. | |
| 12 | Set mass | Click on the Body part in the Explorer panel. In the Properties panel, under the Parameters tab, set the mass to 1220 kg. | |
| 13 | Calculate inertia tensor | Calculate the inertia tensor with the Compute inertia and COM button. |
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| 14 | Add attachment point | Right-click the Body part in the Explorer panel and select Insert Attachment Point. Rename the attachment point Body [AP] to match the standard naming convention used in modular vehicle. Save and close the assembly. | |
| 15 | Save Assembly | Save and close the Assembly tab. | |
| 16 | Test the mechanism | Test the mechanism to see the vehicle chassis drop to the ground. |
Add the Modular Vehicle Topology File
In this step, we add an existing vehicle topology to the mechanism.
Topology files define which components exist in a vehicle, how they are connected, and some additional logic common to the vehicle. However, the actual properties and tuning of the vehicle (dimensions, mass properties, torques and gear ratios) are defined by the user using the interfaces defined in the topology file. This allows the topology to be used and tuned for many different specific models of vehicles. For example, RWD topology file can be used and parameterized to model a sedan, a pick-up truck, or a single-axle dump truck, simply by changing the values in the topology interface.
Topology files are standard Vortex assemblies that are included with the Vortex Studio Sample package located in C:\CM Labs\Vortex Studio Content <version>\Samples\Vehicle Systems\Topology
Task | Action | References |
|---|---|---|
Add vehicle topology file | Select Basics from the Toolbox. Double-click Assemblies from Files. Click the Browse button and navigate to the FWD folder of the Topology directory listed above. Select the FWD.vxassembly file and click Open. |