Use to define the movable parts on the selected model. The Model Articulation page is accessible by clicking View on the Model Properties page.
Level of Detail. Specifies the Level of Detail (LOD) for defining articulations. Level 0 indicates the finest level of detail and level 1 indicates the coarsest model. If level 0 is the only level listed, then the model contains only one level of detail.
Articulations. Use to select the articulation that you want to define. When you select an articulation, the Transformations list automatically populates with all related transformations.
If the Articulations list is empty, the model has no movable parts.
Transformations. Use to select the transformation that you want to define and the slider to modify the transformation.
If not selected, you can change the articulation using the slider. If the articulation is controlled by another source, any changes made will have no effect during animation.
Save Articulation Value as default. If selected, saves the articulation value as the default for all future sessions using this model. The articulation value is saved with the object and not with the model or articulation files.
Do not Save Articulation File. If selected, articulations that were added using the AddArticulation Connect command are not saved to an articulation file associated with the model but are available while the scenario is open during the current session. If not selected, the articulation file will be created, or if one already exists, it will be updated when you save the object or scenario. Note that existing files may be reformatted during the save.
Use object color for model. If selected, the model color will change if the object color, which is defined using the AGI_ColorArtic articulation, changes.
Ignore bound radius when culling. If selected, bound radius is ignored when rendering the model. This is useful if you want to prevent articulated pieces from disappearing when the object position moves out of the view frustum by a distance greater than the bound radius.
Refresh Automatic Articulations. If selected and the articulation is controlled by Model Pointing or an external script, any changes you make using the slider does not affect the articulation.
Auto refresh. If not selected, any changes you make in the values of articulations display only after you click Refresh. If selected, changes display as soon as you release the mouse from the slide control.
Refresh. Use to reload the articulation file for the object if, for instance, you have edited the articulation file.
Default solar panels to point at Sun. Sets the default option for solar panel pointing. If selected, the model's solar panels are defaulted to point towards the sun. This setting will take effect the next time the model is loaded. For satellites only.
When creating a model in which the solar panels automatically point to the sun, the following conditions need to exist:
- An articulation must be set up so that the panels can rotate around their yoke.
- A pointing vector must be defined. This can be done by loading the file into the Model Development Environment (MDE) and determining which axis is perpendicular to the face of the arrays.
- A Solar panel must be declared at the component level where the actual panel was made.
- A Solar Panel Group must be defined at the top of the MDL file, outside any component.
Pointable elements at the root of a model's component hierarchy will be ignored for solar panel pointing.
STK determines which model to display based on the detail threshold distances set and the viewing distance to the object. For models with only one level of detail, the LOD options have no effect.