Syfig as mechanical modeler

General Synfig general discussion
1

Hello.

I am trying to research if synfig may be used as a simple mechanical modeler.

Right now I am using inkscape as a vector drawing/design tool and I use it for testing simple mechanical concepts like hinges, levers and so on.

But inkscape is not actually intended for this purpose. I just group some objects, set rotation axis and try to move/rotate them to see if they behave properly.

I just found out synfig and I wonder if the “bones” feature may be used for such purpose. So the design flow would be:
Design the parts in inkscape, export them into svg.
Import them in synfig, build some sort of mechanical logic and test if the logic works.

The intention is to see whether all parts move as I imagine.

Is synfig worth to try for this purpose?

A cant afford inventor or any other fancy software for this. If synfig is not the best for this, could you suggest any other software which allows for mechanical testing which is free?

2

Hi and welcome,

Synfig is not designed for such usage.
There are nothing like collision detection / solid elements.
It would be limited to 2D and a lot complex.

You could check open-source sites like sourceforge.net/directory/os:wi … simulation
or specialized like FreeCAD

Blender could be also used and more convenient.

But you can still use Synfig for additional animated content :mrgreen:

3

Thank You for explanation.

I have some experience in FreeCAD however I did not know it has that kind of module :slight_smile:
This is most likely the best solution for me. I will check that :slight_smile: