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Nvidia Flex Solver COMP

Summary

NOTE

OS: This operator is only supported under the Microsoft Windows operating system.

The Nvidia Flex Solver COMP is a physics solver COMP similar to the Bullet Solver COMP.

In an Nvidia Flex simulation, the Nvidia Flex Solver COMP is analogous to the world/simulation in which actors/bodies (ie. Actor COMPs) operate. An Nvidia Flex Solver COMP contains any number of actors/bodies (Actor COMPs) or force fields (Force COMP), and as the name suggests it uses Nvidia's FleX particle physics API.

The Nvidia Flex Solver COMP runs an Nvidia Flex simulation based on some simulation parameters (eg. particle radius and cohesion) and updates the transformations of the Actor COMPs contained within it as the simulation progresses forward.

The Actor COMPs referenced by the Nvidia Flex Solver COMP do not need to be inside its network. They can be anywhere as long as they are not already referenced by another Solver COMP (Nvidia Flex or Bullet).

See also: Flex, Nvidia Flex TOP, Actor COMP, Force COMP

PythonIcon.pngflexsolverCOMP_Class


Parameters - Solver Page

Actors actors - The Actor COMPs to include in the simulation. These actors cannot already be a part of another Solver COMP.

Global Forces forces - The Force COMPs to include in the simulation. Only force fields are supported in Flex.

Gravitational Acceleration gravity - - Gravity applied to all actors in the simulation in m/s^2. Gravity is applied to actors irrespective of their mass.
  • Gravitational Acceleration gravityx -
  • Gravitational Acceleration gravityy -
  • Gravitational Acceleration gravityz -
Initialize Sim init - Reset all bodies to their initial state (ie. position, orientation, velocity). This will not begin stepping through the simulation, it will only initialize.

Start Sim start - Initialize the simulation and run it (begin stepping).

Play play - Play the simulation. Will step through the simulation when toggled on, but will be paused when toggled off.

Sample Rate rate - The sample rate of the simulation. The sample rate affects the timestep, which is 1/rate

Pre-Roll preroll - Enables simulation pre-roll. Pre-roll can used to step forward the simulation to a desired start state. Pre-roll will happen during the initialization phase. To get info on the state of pre-roll, see the channels on the Solver's Info CHOP.

Pre-Roll Simulation Time (Sec) prerolltime - The time in seconds to step forward the simulation before start.

Pre-Roll Steps per Frame prerollstep - The amount of steps to take per TouchDesigner frame during pre-roll. Eg. If pre-roll simulation time is 1 second and pre-roll step is 2 then it will take 0.5 seconds to pre-roll.

Show Pre-Roll showpreroll - When enabled the results of the pre-roll will be shown in the Actor COMP (ie. have their transforms updated). When disabled, the Actor COMPs will remain in their initial state until pre-roll is complete

Number of Substeps substeps - Number of substeps to take during one step of the simulation.

Number of Iterations iterations - Number of iterations in each substep.

Always Simulate alwayssim - When enabled the simulation will always step forward.

Enable Boundaries bounds - Enable simulation boundaries. These can either be set through a bounding box or individual planes.

Boundary Mode boundmode - - Use either a Bounding Box SOP specified below or individual planes (also specified below) to set the boundaries.
  • Bounding Box bbox - An oriented bounding box will be calculated from an input SOP (same as orient bounds on Box SOP) then used as the simulation boundaries.
  • Planes planes - Individual planes (maximum 6) can be added to define simulation boundaries. Note: the planes do not need to be orthogonal. Default plane is a +Z XY plane (same as Grid SOP).
Bounding Box SOP bbox - The SOP used to calculate the bounding box.

Plane plane - Sequence of planes to add to the solver

Rotation plane0r - - Rotate the default plane. Default plane is a +Z XY plane (same as Grid SOP).
  • Rotation plane0rx -


  • Rotation plane0ry -
  • Rotation plane0rz -
Translation plane0t - - Translate the default plane. Default plane is a +Z XY plane (same as Grid SOP).
  • Translation plane0tx -
  • Translation plane0ty -
  • Translation plane0tz -


Parameters - Properties Page

Particle Radius radius - Radius of the particles in the simulation. Note: This is used by all Actor's in the simulation.

Dynamic Friction dfriction - The force of friction between a moving particle and a static shape.

Static Friction sfriction - The force of friction between a non-moving particle and a static shape.

Particle Friction pfriction - Dynamic friction between particles.

Restitution rest - The coefficient of restitution for particles.

Adhesion adhesion - How strongly particles stick to surfaces/shapes they hit.

Sleep Threshold sleepthresh - Particles with a velocity less than this threshold will be considered non-moving.

Clamp Speed clampspeed - Enable speed clamping.

Max Speed maxspeed - The magnitude of particle velocity will be clamped to this value.

Clamp Acceleration clampaccel - Enable acceleration clamping.

Max Acceleration maxaccel - The magnitude of particle acceleration will be clamped to this value.

Dissipation diss - Damps particle velocity based on how many particle contacts it has.

Damping damping - Viscous drag force. Applies a force proportional and opposite to the particle velocity.

Cohesion cohesion - Controls how strongles particles hold to each other.

Surface Tension surftension - Controls how strongly particles attempt to minimize surface area.

Viscosity viscosity - Smoothes particle velocities using XSPH viscosity.

Buoyancy buoyancy - A gravity scale for fluid particles.

Collision Distance colldist - The distance particles maintain when colliding against shapes.

Shape Collision Margin scollmargin - Increases the particle radius during contact finding against shapes.

Smoothing smoothing - Controls the strength of Laplacian smoothing in particles for rendering.

Vorticity Confinement vortconf - Increases vorticity by applying rotational forces to particles.

Anisotropy Scale anisoscale - Control how much anisotropys is present in resulting ellipsoids for rendering.

Anisotropy Min anisomin - Clamp the anisotropy scale to this fraction of the radius.

Anisotropy Max anisomax - Clamp the anisotropy scale to this fraction of the radius.

Enable Diffuse Particles diffuse - When enabled, diffuse particles will be created in the simulation. Diffuse particle position/velocity can be fetched using the Nvidia Flex TOP.

Max Diffuse Particles maxdiffuse - The maximum number of diffuse particles that can exist in a simulation simultaneously. Note: if the maximum is too low or the diffuse lifetime too high, then the simulation may not be able to create all the particles needed. However, too many diffuse particles can also affect performance.

Diffuse Threshold diffthresh - Particles with kinetic energy + divergence above this threshold will spawn new diffuse particles

Diffuse Buoyancy diffbuoy - A gravity scale for diffuse particles.

Diffuse Drag diffdrag - Scales the force that diffuse particles receive in direction of neighbouring fluid particles.

Diffuse Ballistic diffball - The number of neighbours below which a diffuse particle is considered ballistic.

Diffuse Lifetime difflife - Time in seconds that a diffuse particle will live for after being spawned.


Parameters - Xform Page

The Xform parameter page controls the object component's transform in world space.

Transform Order xord - - This allows you to specify the order in which the changes to your Component will take place. Changing the Transform Order will change where things go much the same way as going a block and turning east gets you to a different place than turning east and then going a block. In matrix math terms, if we use the 'multiply vector on the right' (column vector) convention, a transform order of Scale, Rotate, Translate would be written as T * R * S * Position.
  • Scale Rotate Translate srt -
  • Scale Translate Rotate str -
  • Rotate Scale Translate rst -
  • Rotate Translate Scale rts -
  • Translate Scale Rotate tsr -
  • Translate Rotate Scale trs -
Rotate Order rord - - This allows you to set the transform order for the Component's rotations. As with transform order (above), changing the order in which the Component's rotations take place will alter the Component's final position. A Rotation order of Rx Ry Rz would create the final rotation matrix as follows R = Rz * Ry * Rx
  • Rx Ry Rz xyz - R = Rz * Ry * Rx
  • Rx Rz Ry xzy - R = Ry * Rz * Rx
  • Ry Rx Rz yxz - R = Rz * Rx * Ry
  • Ry Rz Rx yzx - R = Rx * Rz * Ry
  • Rz Rx Ry zxy - R = Ry * Rx * Rz
  • Rz Ry Rx zyx - R = Rx * Ry * Rz
Translate t - - This allows you to specify the amount of movement along any of the three axes; the amount, in degrees, of rotation around any of the three axes; and a non-uniform scaling along the three axes. As an alternative to entering the values directly into these fields, you can modify the values by manipulating the Component in the Viewport with the Select & Transform state.
  • X tx -
  • Y ty -
  • Z tz -
Rotate r - - Theis specifies the amount of movement along any of the three axes; the amount, in degrees, of rotation around any of the three axes; and a non-uniform scaling along the three axes. As an alternative to entering the values directly into these fields, you can modify the values by manipulating the Component in the Viewport with the Select & Transform state.
  • X rx -
  • Y ry -
  • Z rz -
Scale s - - This specifies the amount of movement along any of the three axes; the amount, in degrees, of rotation around any of the three axes; and a non-uniform scaling along the three axes. As an alternative to entering the values directly into these fields, you can modify the values by manipulating the Component in the Viewport with the Select & Transform state.
  • X sx -
  • Y sy -
  • Z sz -
Pivot p - - The Pivot point edit fields allow you to define the point about which a Component scales and rotates. Altering the pivot point of a Component produces different results depending on the transformation performed on the Component.

For example, during a scaling operation, if the pivot point of an Component is located at -1, -1, 0 and you wanted to scale the Component by 0.5 (reduce its size by 50%), the Component would scale toward the pivot point and appear to slide down and to the left.

Objects17.gif

In the example above, rotations performed on an Component with different pivot points produce very different results.

  • X px -
  • Y py -
  • Z pz -
Uniform Scale scale - This field allows you to change the size of an Component uniformly along the three axes.

Note: Scaling a camera's channels is not generally recommended. However, should you decide to do so, the rendered output will match the Viewport as closely as possible when scales are involved.

Parent Transform Source parentxformsrc - - Select what position is used as the transform source for this obejct. Can be one of "Parent (Hierarchy)", "Specify Parent Object", or "World Origin".
  • From Parent Object (Hierarchy) hierarchy -
  • Specify Parent Object specify -
  • World Origin worldorigin -
Parent Object parentobject - Allows the location of the object to be constrained to any other object whose path is specified in this parameter.

Look At lookat - Allows you to orient this Component by naming another 3D Component you would like it to Look At, or point to. Once you have designated this Component to look at, it will continue to face that Component, even if you move it. This is useful if, for instance, you want a camera to follow another Component's movements. The Look At parameter points the Component in question at the other Component's origin.

Tip: To designate a center of interest for the camera that doesn't appear in your scene, create a Null Component and disable its display flag. Then Parent the Camera to the newly created Null Component, and tell the camera to look at this Component using the Look At parameter. You can direct the attention of the camera by moving the Null Component with the Select state. If you want to see both the camera and the Null Component, enable the Null Component's display flag, and use the Select state in an additional Viewport by clicking one of the icons in the top-right corner of the TouchDesigner window.

Forward Direction forwarddir - - Sets which axis and direction is considered the forward direction.
  • +X posx -
  • -X negx -
  • +Y posy -
  • -Y negy -
  • +Z posz -
  • -Z negz -
Look At Up Vector lookup - - When specifying a Look At, it is possible to specify an up vector for the lookat. Without using an up vector, it is possible to get poor animation when the lookat Component, for example, passes through the Y axis of the target Component.
  • Don't Use Up Vector - Use this option if the look at Component does not pass through the Y axis of the target Component.
  • Use Up Vector - This precisely defines the rotates on the Component doing the looking. The Up Vector specified should not be parallel to the look at direction. See Up Vector below.
  • Use Quaternions - Quaternions are a mathematical representation of a 3D rotation. This method finds the most efficient means of moving from one point to another on a sphere.
  • Don't use up vector off -
  • Use up vector on -
  • Use quaternions quat -
  • Use Roll roll -
Path SOP pathsop - Names the SOP that functions as the path you want this Component to move along. For instance, you can name a SOP that provides a path for the camera to follow.

Roll roll - Using the angle control you can specify a Component's rotation as it animates along the path.

Position pos - This parameter lets you specify the Position of the Component along the path. The values you can enter for this parameter range from 0 to 1, where 0 equals the starting point and 1 equals the end point of the path. The value slider allows for values as high as 10 for multiple "passes" along the path.

Orient along Path pathorient - If this option is selected, the Component will be oriented along the path. The positive Z axis of the Component will be pointing down the path.

Orient Up Vector up - - When orienting a Component, the Up Vector is used to determine where the positive Y axis points.
  • X upx -
  • Y upy -
  • Z upz -
Auto-Bank Factor bank - The Auto-Bank Factor rolls the Component based on the curvature of the path at its current position. To turn off auto-banking, set the bank scale to 0.


Parameters - Pre-Xform Page

The Pre-Xform parameter page applies a transform to the object component the same way connecting another Object as a parent of this node does. The transform is applied to the left of the Xform page's parameters. In terms of matrix math, if we use the 'multiply on the right' (column vector) convention, the equation would be preXForm * xform * Position.

Apply Pre-Transform pxform - Enables the transformation on this page.

Transform Order pxord - - Refer to the documentation on Xform page for more information.
  • Scale Rotate Translate srt -
  • Scale Translate Rotate str -
  • Rotate Scale Translate rst -
  • Rotate Translate Scale rts -
  • Translate Scale Rotate tsr -
  • Translate Rotate Scale trs -
Rotate Order prord - - Refer to the documentation on Xform page for more information.
  • Rx Ry Rz xyz -
  • Rx Rz Ry xzy -
  • Ry Rx Rz yxz -
  • Ry Rz Rx yzx -
  • Rz Rx Ry zxy -
  • Rz Ry Rx zyx -
Translate pt - - Refer to the documentation on Xform page for more information.
  • X ptx -
  • Y pty -
  • Z ptz -
Rotate pr - - Refer to the documentation on Xform page for more information.
  • X prx -
  • Y pry -
  • Z prz -
Scale ps - - Refer to the documentation on Xform page for more information.
  • X psx -
  • Y psy -
  • Z psz -
Pivot pp - - Refer to the documentation on Xform page for more information.
  • X ppx -
  • Y ppy -
  • Z ppz -
Uniform Scale pscale - Refer to the documentation on Xform page for more information.

Reset Transform preset - This button will reset this page's transform so it has no translate/rotate/scale.

Commit to Main Transform pcommit - This button will copy the transform from this page to the main Xform page, and reset this page's transform.

Xform Matrix/CHOP/DAT xformmatrixop - This parameter can be used to transform using a 4x4 matrix directly. For information on ways to specify a matrix directly, refer to the Matrix Parameters page. This transform will be applied after the regular Pre-Transform transformation. That is, it'll be applied in the oder XformMatrix * PreXForm * Position.


Parameters - Render Page

The Display parameter page controls the component's material and rendering settings.

Material material - Selects a MAT to apply to the geometry inside.

Render render - Whether the Component's geometry is visible in the Render TOP. This parameter works in conjunction (logical AND) with the Component's Render Flag.

Draw Priority drawpriority - Determines the order in which the Components are drawn. Smaller values get drawn after larger values. The value is compared with other Components in the same parent Component, or if the Component is the top level one listed in the Render TOP's 'Geometry' parameter, then against other top-level Components listed there. This value is most often used to help with Transparency.

Pick Priority pickpriority - When using a Render Pick CHOP or a Render Pick DAT, there is an option to have a 'Search Area'. If multiple objects are found within the search area, the pick priority can be used to select one object over another. A higher value will get picked over a lower value. This does not affect draw order, or objects that are drawn over each other on the same pixel. Only one will be visible for a pick per pixel.

Wireframe Color wcolor - - Use the R, G, and B fields to set the Component's color when displayed in wireframe shading mode.
  • Red wcolorr -
  • Green wcolorg -
  • Blue wcolorb -
Light Mask lightmask - By default all lights used in the Render TOP will affect geometry renderer. This parameter can be used to specify a sub-set of lights to be used for this particular geometry. The lights must be listed in the Render TOP as well as this parameter to be used.


Parameters - Extensions Page

The Extensions parameter page sets the component's python extensions. Please see extensions for more information.

Extension ext - Sequence of info for creating extensions on this component

Object ext0object - A number of class instances that can be attached to the component.

Name ext0name - Optional name to search by, instead of the instance class name.

Promote ext0promote - Controls whether or not the extensions are visible directly at the component level, or must be accessed through the .ext member. Example: n.Somefunction vs n.ext.Somefunction

Re-Init Extensions reinitextensions - Recompile all extension objects. Normally extension objects are compiled only when they are referenced and their definitions have changed.


Parameters - Common Page

The Common parameter page sets the component's node viewer and clone relationships.

Parent Shortcut parentshortcut - Specifies a name you can use anywhere inside the component as the path to that component. See Parent Shortcut.

Global OP Shortcut opshortcut - Specifies a name you can use anywhere at all as the path to that component. See Global OP Shortcut.

Internal OP iop - Sequence header for internal operators.

Shortcut iop0shortcut - Specifies a name you can use anywhere inside the component as a path to "Internal OP" below. See Internal Operators.

OP iop0op - The path to the Internal OP inside this component. See Internal Operators.

Node View nodeview - - Determines what is displayed in the node viewer, also known as the Node Viewer. Some options will not be available depending on the Component type (Object Component, Panel Component, Misc.)
  • Default Viewer default - Displays the default viewer for the component type, a 3D Viewer for Object COMPS and a Control Panel Viewer for Panel COMPs.
  • Operator Viewer opviewer - Displays the node viewer from any operator specified in the Operator Viewer parameter below.
Operator Viewer opviewer - Select which operator's node viewer to use when the Node View parameter above is set to Operator Viewer.

Enable Cloning enablecloning - Control if the OP should be actively cloneing. Turning this off causes this node to stop cloning it's 'Clone Master'.

Enable Cloning Pulse enablecloningpulse - Instantaneously clone the contents.

Clone Master clone - Path to a component used as the Master Clone.

Load on Demand loadondemand - Loads the component into memory only when required. Good to use for components that are not always used in the project.

Enable External .tox enableexternaltox - When on (default), the external .tox file will be loaded when the .toe starts and the contents of the COMP will match that of the external .tox. This can be turned off to avoid loading from the referenced external .tox on startup if desired (the contents of the COMP are instead loaded from the .toe file). Useful if you wish to have a COMP reference an external .tox but not always load from it unless you specifically push the Re-Init Network parameter button.

Enable External .tox Pulse enableexternaltoxpulse - This button will re-load from the external .tox file (if present).

External .tox Path externaltox - Path to a .tox file on disk which will source the component's contents upon start of a .toe. This allows for components to contain networks that can be updated independently. If the .tox file can not be found, whatever the .toe file was saved with will be loaded.

Reload Custom Parameters reloadcustom - When this checkbox is enabled, the values of the component's Custom Parameters are reloaded when the .tox is reloaded. This only affects top-level parameters on the component, all parameters on nodes inside the component are always reloaded with the .tox.

Reload Built-In Parameters reloadbuiltin - When this checkbox is enabled, the values of the component's built-in parameters are reloaded when the .tox is reloaded. This only affects top-level parameters on the component, all parameters on nodes inside the component are always reloaded with the .tox.

Save Backup of External savebackup - When this checkbox is enabled, a backup copy of the component specified by the External .tox parameter is saved in the .toe file. This backup copy will be used if the External .tox can not be found. This may happen if the .tox was renamed, deleted, or the .toe file is running on another computer that is missing component media.

Sub-Component to Load subcompname - When loading from an External .tox file, this option allows you to reach into the .tox and pull out a COMP and make that the top-level COMP, ignoring everything else in the file (except for the contents of that COMP). For example if a .tox file named project1.tox contains project1/geo1, putting geo1 as the Sub-Component to Load, will result in geo1 being loaded in place of the current COMP. If this parameter is blank, it just loads the .tox file normally using the top level COMP in the file.

Relative File Path Behavior relpath - - Set whether the child file paths within this COMP are relative to the .toe itself or the .tox, or inherit from parent.
  • Use Parent's Behavior inherit - Inherit setting from parent.
  • Relative to Project File (.toe) project - The path, when specified as a relative path, will be relative to the .toe file.
  • Relative to External COMP File (.tox) externaltox - The path, when specified as a relative path, will be relative to the .tox file. When no external COMP file is specified, or when Enable External .tox is not toggled on, this doesn't have any impact.


Info CHOP Channels

Extra Information for the Nvidia Flex Solver COMP can be accessed via an Info CHOP.

Specific Nvidia Flex Solver COMP Info Channels

  • num_active_diffuse_particles -
  • initializing -
  • ready -
  • running -
  • done -
  • timer_fraction -
  • timer_seconds -
  • timer_index -
  • playing_seconds -
  • running_seconds -
  • length_seconds -
  • sample_rate -
  • index -
  • num_bodies -
  • num_active_bodies -

Common COMP Info Channels

  • num_children - Number of children in this component.

Common Operator Info Channels

  • total_cooks - Number of times the operator has cooked since the process started.
  • cook_time - Duration of the last cook in milliseconds.
  • cook_frame - Frame number when this operator was last cooked relative to the component timeline.
  • cook_abs_frame - Frame number when this operator was last cooked relative to the absolute time.
  • cook_start_time - Time in milliseconds at which the operator started cooking in the frame it was cooked.
  • cook_end_time - Time in milliseconds at which the operator finished cooking in the frame it was cooked.
  • cooked_this_frame - 1 if operator was cooked this frame.
  • warnings - Number of warnings in this operator if any.
  • errors - Number of errors in this operator if any.


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