Plan the work

Figure out how to break the object down into parts, constraints, scripts, extensions, etc. Check if the design has too many (or too few!) parts, or if it's is over-constrained.
Consider what you want to simulate and don't add unnecessary objects to the simulation. For example, a single Spot with a Projected Texture (serving as a mask) is better than adding multiple Spots mounted side-by-side.

Mechanical Engineer Best Practices

Create a new mechanism file

On the Vortex Studio Home page, click the Mechanism shortcut. Save your new file (*.vxmechanism) in your preferred location.

Working with Documents

Create assembly/assemblies

Parts will be added to an assembly.
Note that it's possible to have more than one assembly per mechanism.

The next steps are done in the Assembly.

Vortex Studio Editor Documents

Import a 3D model

Vortex Studio imports and stores the model and all its components (materials, textures, etc.) into a single native file: the Graphics Gallery.
From the Toolbox, double-click Graphics Gallery from File... and point it at the desired file (*.vxgraphicgallery), which a 3D artist should have prepared for you. (You can also create your own Graphics Gallery and import a 3D or CAD model into it.)
A Graphics Gallery will contain:

• A locked container displaying connections between the graphics nodes (these change only when modifying the node hierarchy in the Explorer panel)

• A hierarchical list of graphic nodes (hierarchy can be changed by drag-and-dropping nodes in the Explorer panel)

• A flat list of graphics geometries

• A flat list of graphics materials

• A flat list of textures

Graphics Galleries

Create part(s)

Use the various graphic nodes of the model as starting points to create parts.
Note that if your simulation does not require a visual component, you can also create parts without starting from a graphic node.
Add physical properties such as mass, collision geometries, contact materials, and inertia tensors to the parts.

Vortex Studio Editor Documents

Create constraint(s)

Parts are joined together with constraints.
The latter is set up in the assembly file. Constraints can be free, locked (restricted in position), or motorized (restricted in velocity).
Other parameters include axis, limits, damping, friction, stiffness, and more.

Constraints

Add collision rule(s)

Collision rules let you control whether a collision will be calculated between a pair of components.
They help to define the relationship between components in the simulation.

Collision Rules

Add scripting

You can further extend the simulation and provide additional functionality with Python scripts.

Python 3 Scripting Extension inside Dynamics Content

Add attachment point(s)

Attachment points allow you to attach and detach assemblies and mechanisms at runtime.

Attachments

Add connection container(s)

Connections let you pass on transforms, values, and parameters between components such as extensions or scripts.

Connection Editor

Save and close the Assembly

Save all the modification done in the Assembly document, and go back to the Mechanism

Vortex Studio Editor Documents

Add extension(s)

Add extensions such as control hardware, cameras, lights, etc. These add specialized functionalities to the simulation.
Note: some extensions can only be used at the Scene level.

Extensions

Optimize mechanism

Revise the design and see if there are ways to streamline the mechanism: reducing the number of constraints, simplifying collision geometries, etc.

Mechanical Engineer Best Practices

Test and tune mechanism

Test the mechanism using tools such as the Vortex Studio Player and the Plotter.
Tune parameters and repeat tests until the desired behavior is obtained.

• Vortex Studio Player

• Graphical Simulation Plotter

Create the new scene file

From the Home page, click the Scene button.

Working with Documents

Save the scene file

You can now save the scene file (*.vxscene) via the Save icon in your preferred folder.

Working with Documents

Add a material table

A scene includes various materials; for example, the ground is packed earth, the road's asphalt, some areas might be grass, etc.
Select Simulation from the Toolbox. Double-click Material Table to add it to the Explorer panel. If the materials table panel is not visible, click , then select Material Table.
Vortex Studio has a default material table with some basic entries, but you should create your own based on the needs of your simulation.

Contact Materials

Add a terrain object

Vortex Studio stores the terrain into a single object called the Terrain File.
Select Environment from the Toolbox. Double-click Terrain from File...
This will launch a pop-up panel, where we will set up a number of parameters for the terrain in the next steps.

Terrain

Import a terrain 3D model

Vortex Studio imports and stores a 3D model and all its components (materials, textures, etc.) into a single native file: the Graphics Gallery.
From the Source section of the open pop-up panel, click "..." and point it at the desired file (*.vxgraphicgallery), which a 3D artist should have prepared for you. (You can also create your own Graphics Gallery and import a 3D terrain model into it.)
A Graphics Gallery contains:

• A locked container displaying connections between the graphics nodes (these change only when modifying the node hierarchy in the Explorer panel)

• A hierarchical list of graphic nodes (hierarchy can be changed by drag-and-dropping nodes in the Explorer panel)

• A flat list of graphics geometries

• A flat list of graphics materials

• A flat list of textures

Graphics Gallery

Specify Default Material

From the Materials section of the open panel, select the Default Material for your terrain, from the choices available in your Material Table. This is the material that will be defined for the terrain if no special rule is set for it (see below).

Contact Materials

Select Mapping Strategy

Your terrain object is likely to feature multiple dynamic materials (Ground, Asphalt, Gravel, Grass, etc.).
We're going to set up rules to define this, but first, we need to define what the rules will be based on.

• Graphic nodes: this will use the graphic nodes in the Graphics Gallery to allocate materials to various areas.

• Textures: this will use the textures in the Graphics Gallery to allocate materials to various areas.

Terrain

Create Mapping Rules

In the box in the middle of the open panel, click Add Rule to create a new mapping rule.
Build each rule by matching the name of the node(s) or texture(s) with the name of the material to assign.
Use regular expressions to identify a group of nodes or textures. For example, assign a name to every texture that appears on the side of a building with a designated keyword (Siding001, Siding002, Siding003, etc.) which can then be used in a rule (for example, Siding00.? or Siding.*, etc.).
The material names used must correspond to the materials table of the scene.

Terrain

Set UVGrid Parameters

The Terrain model will be divided into multiple sub-sections for calculation. These parameters are used to optimize the scene (see link at right for a more in-depth explanation of what each does).
Vortex Studio provides a default parametrization, so leave this alone for now.

Terrain

Save the terrain

Click the OK button at the bottom of the settings panel to accept the changes and save your terrain.

Edit the terrain

If you need to go back and make modifications, right-click on the terrain object in the Explorer panel and select Edit.
Note that you can also open the terrain's Graphics Gallery and edit it. Any changes saved will be reflected immediately in the terrain object.

Save the scene

Save the scene using the Save button at the upper left of the screen.

Build the simulation

The basic scene is ready. Add mechanisms, extensions, scripts, etc. to build the full simulation.

Test and tune scene

Test the scene using tools such as the Vortex Studio Player and the Plotter.
Tune values and parameters and repeat tests until desired behavior and performance are obtained.

• Vortex Studio Player

• Graphical Simulation Plotter