Reply To: Collab 2020: Modeling Heavy Equipment (Backhoe)

So……. I know a little about mechanics and engineering, I’m no expert but here goes:

The idea of the hydraulic piston is for Part A to be pushed and pulled in and out of Part B, In this example P.001 would be aligned with the chassis, but the rotation is free, meaning there is no force rotating P.001. The rotation of P.001 happens  when the arm is lifted or lowered by a separate piston. If P is attached to the bucket, the push and pull of this piston is to rotate the bucket, so with the piston extended, or pushed, the teeth of the bucket would point towards the ground, and when retracted, or pulled, then the teeth would point towards the sky. 

So this would suggest that P.001 would be constrained in location only, or aligned with the chassis, but free to rotate. The other point to consider is that parts A and B must always be aligned exactly on the same axis. The rotation of the bucket at P is dependent on the position of A  in relation to B along this axis. So this piston controls rotation at P or more precisely the rotation of the bucket. The rotation at P.001 is controlled by the movement of other parts, or the lifting of the arm by another piston, But the location of P.001 in relation to the chassis will always stay the same. Part B would move along or over Part A.

So to do this in Blender:

I WOULDN’T HAVE A CLUE