Folding Lock Mechanism

Rigging
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1

Hi!

I would like to rig a folding lock, but I’m unsure how to approach it. In the image below, the red pivot should be fixed in place, while the other pivots need to move freely while doing IK and maintaining the segment lengths of the lock. I found that the IK Spline Handle solution is insufficient because it doesn’t allow for pinning the end joint. Also, the Motion Path solution does allow for pinning both curve ends, but it doesn’t support IK and doesn’t maintain the lock’s segment lengths (bone lengths). Can anyone suggest a method or approach to achieve this rigging goal?

lock
lock512×512 42.1 KB

2

what you want to do here cannot be easily created with basic maya components
it can however be done with bifrost or making your own nodes, i think this article is exactly what you need:

3

That looks really cool! I will give it a try.
Thank you @peerke88 !