The Waveform Controller is a float controller that provides regular, periodic waveforms. Created originally to control blinking lights, you can use it on any float value.
A good way to view how the trajectory of an object is being affected by the Waveform controller is to turn on Motion Panel/Trajectories.
After assigning the Waveform Controller, right-click on its track in Track View to display its properties.
List Window: Displays waveforms in a list.
Add: Adds a new waveform to the end of the list. The default waveform is a sine wave with a period of 10 frames and an amplitude of 100.
Insert: Inserts a new waveform before the selected waveform slot.
Remove: Deletes the selected waveform. This is disabled when only one waveform remains.
Move Up and Move Down: Shifts the selected waveform up and down in the list, allowing the waveform order to be altered.
Disable: When selected, disables the selected waveform.
This area provides control parameters for the currently-selected waveform.
Tip: Using the Sphere example, you can observe the waveform in the Function Curve displays of the Trackview, and watch changes in the waveform while testing the parameters described below.
Name: Editable field.
Waveform Icons: The icon buttons let you specify five waveform types, Sine, Square, Triangle, Sawtooth, and Half Sine.
Inverted: Flips the waveform vertically.
Flipped: Flips the waveform horizontally.
Period: The number of frames to complete one waveform pattern. (Spinner Value: float, 0.01 to 9,999,999)
Duty Cycle: For square waves only, this specifies the percentage of time the square wave is “on.” The default is 50. (Spinner Value: float, 0 to 100)
Amplitude: The height of the wave. (Spinner Value: float, 0 to 9,999,999)
Phase: The offset of the wave. (Spinner Value: float, 0 to 1)
Vertical Bias area
A waveform’s output value can be altered by adjusting the Vertical Bias parameter. (Spinner Value: float, -9,999,999 to 9,999,999). The options are:
Centered: The waveforms vertical bias is centered about zero. For example, a 100-unit amplitude waveform would range from -100 to 100.
Auto > 0: Shifts the waveform above the zero line.
Auto < 0: Shifts the waveform below the zero line.
Manual: Lets you set the waveform manually by adjusting the spinner.
Each waveform has an Effect parameter, which can be one of the following:
Add: Causes the current waveform’s value to be added to the previous waveform’s output. This is the default.
Multiply: Multiplies the previous waveform’s output by this waveform’s value.
Clamp Above: Limits the previous waveform’s output to be above this waveform’s value.
Clamp Below: Limits the previous waveform’s output to be below this waveform’s value.
The Characteristic Graph display shows one of three displays, controlled by the radio buttons below the display.
This Wave: Shows the current waveform only, independent of all other waveforms.
This Output: Shows the output of the current waveform, including all previous waveforms.
Final Output: Shows the output of all the waveforms in the list. You can also see the final output by turning on the Track View’s Function Curve display for the track which has the waveform controller assigned.
All displays show the output graph of the controller waveforms in a solid dark line, with the zero line drawn in a dotted gray line. To the right of the display are two numeric displays showing the high and low range of the waveform curve. The graph autoscales vertically to always fit the waveform output curve, and autoscales horizontally to twice the period of the longest-period waveform.
Note: The Waveform controller can be assigned to any float track. We’ll use the sphere as an example.