Ok I have managed to import my car model into Poser and I want to set up my steering wheel so that it turns the wheels (imported as seperate objects). Can I do this using bones? Anybody know of any tutorials out there on how to do this. Any help appreciated. Thanks in advance.

In Poser 8 this is simple, using dependent parameters. If you have a parameter dial to rotate the steering wheel then you can link the y rotate dials of the wheels to that and the wheels will turn with the steering wheel.

Thanks for the quick response I assume those dependent parameters will be in Poser 7 . Time to experiment.

Afraid not,this is a new feature in Poser 8.

If you make the steering wheel (group) the parent to the wheels group that should work also.

Dependent parameters are in Poser 7, just not as easy to set up as in Poser 8. Check out page 395 of the P7 manual (hard copy) or page 410 of the .pdf reference manual.

In Poser 7 you can simply use erc. Which means editing the cr2 file. Place the master in the BODY section ( I put it after the normal dials xtran etc)  and add the slave part to the rotate channel for each wheel.

valueParm Master 1
    {
    name Lower Grips
    initValue 0
    hidden 0
    forceLimits 0
    min 0
    max 1
    trackingScale 0.004
    keys
        {
        static 0
        k 0 0
        }
    interpStyleLocked 0
    }

rotateY yRot
    {
    name Turn
    initValue 0
    hidden 0
    forceLimits 1
    min -170
    max 170
    trackingScale 0.001
    keys
        {
        static 0
        k 0 0
        }
    interpStyleLocked 0
    valueOpDeltaAdd
        Figure 1
        BODY:1
        Master 1
    deltaAddDelta 1
    }

Markschum has it.  For steering plain old ERC will do the job, as in his example.

You might want to look at Dependent Parameters for other controls if you're
going to make a completely posable car.   For example, a 5-speed stick shift
or accurate suspension motions.  ERC won't do those.

In P7 here's a script that makes it easier to set up DP, though not as
easy as the built-in system in P8.

http://ockhamsbungalow.com/Python/KeyframeERC.zip

Dependant parameters set up in Poser 8 DO NOT work properly in Poser 7 sp2. They do strange things.

First ensure that the model that you have imported car does not have that capability already.  Most model makers have functions that turn wheels, open and close doors, hoods, and trunks etc. 

Another thing you could do, import a ball, reduce it in size and if you grouped all the stuff that is part of the wheels, fine the pivot point of the wheel assembly, then parent the wheel assembly group to the ball, then determine which axis of the ball rotates (probably the Y axis) the wheels in the proper direction.  Then in the ball settings place limits on how far the ball rotates.  Finally rename the ball and call it say wheel pivot, then make the ball invisible. Method is good for opening windows, doors etc.

If there is no connection between the two wheels, then make balls for each of the wheels and do the same as above.

Hardest part is finding the pivot point for the wheels.   Jan

Wow thanks everybody for all your ideas. Markschum I will give the CR2 editing a go I like the idea of a seperate dial to control the steering of the seperate objects. As Plutom states I know it can be done because most car models for sale here include this feature. I have managed to build the car in a 3d package and import it. The next step is picking the bits of Poser I need to add to create a bit more functionality.  This is an excellent headstart :-)

I believe that phibuild (or that method) is great for building mechanical models although importing the pieces and creating the figure in hierarchy editor works too

Hello,

If you want, you can download and check out this car model.

http://www.sharecg.com/v/38223/Poser/69-Vette

If this is what you are looking for, I'll tell you how I did the tire turns and all.

Later...