How do I get a set of boxes to follow a spline?

I’ve tried the spacing tool (the boxes follow the spline perfectly but do not rotate as the spline turns a corner, path deform (objects follow spline perfectly but deform around bends) and path constraint (boxes follow spline as a single object). I would like for the boxes to follow a helix and all point to the centre of the helix as they spiral upward (without deformation). Any ideas?

Workstation - 3DS Max Design 2012 SP1 - Windows 7 Pro 64 bit - Core i7 3.2GHz - GeForce GTX 280 - 6Gb RAM
Rendering - Windows 7 Pro 64 bit - Core i7 980X 3.33GHz - 12Gb RAM

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Path Constraint should do this for you without any problem, as long as you have “Follow” checked. The boxes will always point towards the center of the helix as the spiral through it. What was the problem you were having with the Path Constraint?

Windows XP 64-bit
Dual Intel Xeon X5482 3.20GHz
32GB RAM
NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700
Dual 20” Dell LCD monitors.
3ds Max 2009 64-bit
Adobe Creative Suite 2

Im kind of a noob to this myself, but I think you can individually path constraint the boxes, the set them at different %’s along the path(there should be a % along path box). Then tick ‘constant velocity’.

hope this helped. :]

edit: or maybe you could constrant all of them, then check to see if theres motion keys for each one. (move the starting key)

Once you’ve set the path constraint the way you want it, you can use the snapshot tool (Tools menu) to create the different boxes.

For a finer control on the orientation, you can also replace the default rotation controller by a LookAt constraint and animate it’s target. Then snapshot…

max 9
Photoshop CS3
Windows XP
tin box + plug
Wacom Intuos3

Benjamin Utley 21 November 2008 09:13 PM

Path Constraint should do this for you without any problem, as long as you have “Follow” checked. The boxes will always point towards the center of the helix as the spiral through it. What was the problem you were having with the Path Constraint?

the boxes were all following the spline as a single block of boxes rather than individually

Workstation - 3DS Max Design 2012 SP1 - Windows 7 Pro 64 bit - Core i7 3.2GHz - GeForce GTX 280 - 6Gb RAM
Rendering - Windows 7 Pro 64 bit - Core i7 980X 3.33GHz - 12Gb RAM

Homepage - Architectural Visualisation
Blog - Architectural Rendering Perth

Offset the keys, so if box01 starts at 0%, box02 starts at 10%, and box 03 at 20% Etc…
You could try the Toytrain plugin if you want objects to follow each other on a path. Find it here:-
http://www.maxplugins.de/