Simulate curly cord?

[kbdev]

Hi
I need to simulate a curly/spiral cord for a medical simulation project I am working on. One end of the cord is attached to the piece of machinery and the other end to a hand control which normally hangs on the machinery on a hook. I would like the cord to swing when the machinery is move from side to side and the cord to collapse on the floor when the machinery is lowered closer to the floor. See attached image.
Will I be able to use the Obi Rope asset for something like this?

[josemendez]

Hi
I need to simulate a curly/spiral cord for a medical simulation project I am working on. One end of the cord is attached to the piece of machinery and the other end to a hand control which normally hangs on the machinery on a hook. I would like the cord to swing when the machinery is move from side to side and the cord to collapse on the floor when the machinery is lowered closer to the floor. See attached image.
Will I be able to use the Obi Rope asset for something like this?

It depends.

This is not a rope in the strict sense of the word, but a rod. The key difference is that ropes have very low torsion resistance (in fact Obi does not model torsion at all) and rods have very high torsion resistance, coupled to bending resistance. This is what causes the cord to keep its curly shape, and resist re-shaping.

Obi could simulate a invisible straight rope with a curly mesh skinned to it. It will be able to collide with anything in the scene (including the floor) and move realistically. This would look somewhat similar to your pic, however phenomena such as plectoneme formation would not be accounted for.

If all you need is a curly-looking but not curly-behaving rope, then I'd say go for it.

[kbdev]

It depends.

This is not a rope in the strict sense of the word, but a rod. The key difference is that ropes have very low torsion resistance (in fact Obi does not model torsion at all) and rods have very high torsion resistance, coupled to bending resistance. This is what causes the cord to keep its curly shape, and resist re-shaping.

Obi could simulate a invisible straight rope with a curly mesh skinned to it. It will be able to collide with anything in the scene (including the floor) and move realistically. This would look somewhat similar to your pic, however phenomena such as plectoneme formation would not be accounted for.

If all you need is a curly-looking but not curly-behaving rope, then I'd say go for it.

Thank you for the reply. 

Yes, I think a curly-looking (rather that curly-behaving) rope will be sufficient for my needs. I shall then do it using a curly mesh skinned to it as you suggested.