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Since cam simulation involves finding the “best” place on a spline to place a sliding connector, there are bound to be small problems caused by the cam shape. I realized that this can actually cause terrible problems when a cam is using an open spline. The simulation difficulties…
Continue readingI have been dumbfounded for years. I want to maybe write the Linkage program in Swift for the Mac. I absolutely need GPU acceleration to get good performance and that has eluded me for quite some time. I was unable to find any article, until now, that told…
Continue readingI just made a new beta Linkage app available. And yes, I did just call it an “app” because “program” sounds too old-school. The beta is here: http://www.rectorsquid.com/beta/linkage.msi. The video above shows one of the newest simulation improvements. The little triangle link with two sliding connectors was not…
Continue readingThe data in the Linkage program is set up in what seemed like the best way possible when I first wrote it. There is an overall document object and in that object is a list of links, a list of connectors, and a list of splines. Within a…
Continue readingShould I start calling it “The Linkage App?” I’m toying with the idea of having a linear input feature. A few people pointed out the difficulty in creating a linear motion base using the software’s linear actuators. The linear actuators are similar to hydraulic cylinders and are connected…
Continue readingThe rotating input connector can have an oscillation limit angle that makes the rotating input reverse when the angle is reached. There is also an angle that is just the oscillation offset or start point. It’s hard to describe that start angle although I should just call it…
Continue readingI got a complaint, albeit a very friendly and not “complainy” one, that the Linkage software isn’t handling the pen (stylus) on a Windows tablet properly. I implemented pen-to-mouse conversion code that seems to be working. My HP Spectre x360 came with a stylus so I was able…
Continue readingI create videos using an MPEG encoder for Windows. It’s very hard to find a video encoder that can be used by software like the Linkage program – too many video programs just embed their encoder or require you to buy that software to use their encoder. Since…
Continue readingI’m about ready to turn the Beta Linkage program into the official production version. The only problem is that I still want to do more work on it. It feels incomplete if it can’t move a cam to make it meet a follower. In other words, the follower…
Continue readingThanks to a user, I fixed a few bugs in the spline/cam simulation code. Splines that are not fastened to a link or connector are now treated as part of the “ground” and can be used as cam-like shapes without producing simulation errors. Speaking of connectors; a cam…
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