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Hierarchy Panel Commands 487
the pivot point of the parent to the pivot point of
the selected object.
For example, a sliding joint on a piston moves the
piston in and out of the c ylinder. In the figure,
the limits on Z axis movement are from 10 to 90.
This prevents the piston from hitting the bottom
or moving past the end of the cylinder.
Limiting Path and S ur face Joints
Limitsforpathandsurfacejointsdefinehowfar
along the path or surface an object can move.
ThevaluesintheFromandTofieldsrepresenta
percentage of the total distance measured along
the path or surface.
For example, a path joint for a house key mo ves the
key along a key ring. Setting the limits on the path
jointat5%to95%preventsthekeyfromtraveling
along the ring where the fob is attached.
See also
Sliding and Rotational Joints (HI Sol ver) (page
2–459)
Hierarchy Panel Commands
Once you have set up a hierarchy using the Select
and Link command (page 2–422) or a system such
as Bones (page 1–404), you can manage it using the
Hierarchy p anel. This command panel has three
tabs:
Pivot (page 2–487)
IK (page 2–491)
Link Info (page 2–499)
YouusethePivottabtoadjustthepivotpoints
of objects in the hierarchy. You use the IK tab
to manage the behavior of inverse kinematics
(IK).YouusetheLinkInfotabtoapplylocksor
inherita nce to movement within the hierarchy.
See also
Hierarchies and Kinematics (page 2–416)
Inverse Kinematics (IK) (page 2–435)
IK Terminology (page 2–437)
Animating with Interactive IK (page 2–480)
Animating with Applied IK (page 2–481)
History-D ependent (HD) IK Solver (page 2–461)
Histor y-Independent (HI) IK Solver (page 2–446)
IK Limb Solver (page 2–472)
Spline IK (page 2–473)
Pivot
Make a s election i n the viewpor t. > Hierarchy panel >
Pivot button
All objects have a pivot point. You can think of the
pivot point as representing an object’s local center
and local coordinate system. The pivot point of an
object is used for the following:
• Functions as the center for rotation and scaling
when y ou select the Pivot Point transform
center.
• Sets t he default location of a modifier center.
• Defines the transform relationship for the
object’s linked children.