Mimic3-v1.5.1

Mimic for Maya 2022+

As of Maya 2022, Maya ships with Python 3. This latest build is designed to work with Maya 2022 and later. Another change that has affected Mimic is that Maya no longer ships with PyMEL, a library that Mimic relies on, which instead needs to be installed in Maya using pip. Because of this, I have decided to remove the other external libraries that Mimic relies on (numpy, pyqtgraph, pyserial, and Qt.py) from the build, and instead have users install them using pip. See below for these additional installation instructions.

Additional Installation Steps

• On MAC: Open Terminal and run the following command, replace maya202x with the Maya release you're using (e.g. maya2024):

  /Applications/Autodesk/maya202x/Maya.app/Contents/bin/mayapy -m pip install numpy pyqtgraph pyserial pymel Qt.py
  

• On PC: Run Command Prompt as an administrator and run the following command, replace maya202x with the Maya release you're using (e.g. maya2024):

  "C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya202x\bin\mayapy.exe" -m pip install numpy pyqtgraph pyserial pymel Qt.py
  

note: because the external modules are now installed with pip, there is a single build of Mimic for both Mac and PC

Mimic-v1.5.0

What's new?

• Enhanced preferences management
  • New UI to manage/set user preferences (i.e. default robot, default postproc and postproc settings, etc.)
  • File-level preferences saved with Maya file, so changes you make to settings in the Mimic UI persist when you close/open the Mimic UI or close/open your Maya file

• Support for Maya 2022 on PC
  • Maya 2022 ships with Python 3; however, you can start Maya using Python 2 by trying one of the steps here
  • This only works on PC. There is no way to launch Maya with Python 2 on Mac, unfortunately
• Added new robot rigs
• Improved annotations, comments, warnings, dialogs throughout
• Improved the Mimic codebase, usability, and squashed bugs throughout

What's next?

• Porting Mimic to Python 3 for Maya 2022 and beyond!

• For installation instructions and a list of supported robots, see our README.
• Note: the only difference between the Mac and Windows versions are the precompiled versions of NumPy we've included in each
• To obtain more robot rigs, download a rig from here and copy it into the appropriate mimic/rigs/ folder.
• Tutorials can be found at mimicformaya.com.

Mimic-v1.4.1

MINOR RELEASE

• Enabled support for Maya 2020
• Added user option in program tab to toggle viewport preview during analysis and export. Leaving viewport preview off significantly decreases post-processing time

Note:

• For additional rigs not included in the download, please see rigs packaged with previous release: Mimic-v1.4.0

• For installation instructions and a list of supported robots, see our README.
• Note: the only difference between the Mac and Windows versions are the precompiled versions of NumPy we've included in each
• To obtain more robot rigs, download a rigs archive and merge it into mimic/rigs.
• Tutorials can be found at mimicformaya.com.

Mimic-v1.4.0

What's new?

• mFIZ is here! mFIZ is an add-on that can be used as a standalone tool to program and drive lens control motors live from Maya. You can also connect an mFIZ node to a robot to write FIZ values directly to a robot program.
• Added animation support for FANUC and Kawasaki Robots
• Added a simple Staubli VAL3 and general CSV post-processor
• Added new robot rigs for KUKA, FANUC, and Kawasaki
• Improved robustness of exporting programs
• Improved annotations, comments, warnings, dialogs throughout
• Improved the Mimic codebase, usability, and squashed bugs throughout

What's next?

• Live HUD readout of Velocity, Acceleration, and Jerk in Maya's viewport
• Live communication tools and robot drivers from the community
• More tutorials and documentation.

Important Note:

• If you've installed a beta version of mFIZ, be sure to delete mFIZ.mod in your modules folder before installing Mimic v1.4.0. mFIZ is now loaded from the mimic.mod module file.

• For installation instructions and a list of supported robots, see our README.
• Note: the only difference between the Mac and Windows versions are the precompiled versions of NumPy we've included in each
• To obtain more robot rigs, download a rigs archive and merge it into mimic/rigs.
• Tutorials can be found at mimicformaya.com.

Mimic-v1.3.0

What's new?

• Added support for Universal Robots (required a new IK solver) and Motoman
• Removed all "Accumulate Rotation" rigging nodes and "Reconcile Rotation" behavior.
  • IK solver now only solves between +/- 180 degrees each axis, and accumulation of rotation is now handled in the postprocessor.
  • No IK or FK keyframe is required to save a program
• I/O support
• Added new robot rigs for ABB, KUKA, Motoman, and Universal Robots
• Improved robustness of exporting programs
• Improved annotations, comments, warnings, dialogs throughout
• Improved the Mimic codebase, usability, and squashed bugs throughout

What's next?

• Support for Focus/Iris/Zoom motors
• More tutorials and documentation.
• Support for Communication
• Full support for Poses and Configurations.

Important Note:

• Due to architectural changes in the rigs, previous rig versions are not compatible with Mimic v1.3.0 and vice versa. You must download the latest version of your required rig to use with v1.3.0.

• For installation instructions and a list of supported robots, see our README.
• Note: the only difference between the Mac and Windows versions are the precompiled versions of NumPy we've included in each
• To obtain more robot rigs, download a rigs archive and merge it into mimic/rigs.
• Tutorials can be found at mimicformaya.com.

Mimic-v1.2

What's new?

• Added Analysis module that includes graphing of Position, Velocity, Acceleration, and Jerk!
• Enabled soft IK reach tracking. Solver finds closest IK solution, even if robot can't physically reach the IK Handle
• Added support for referencing/namespacing of rigs
• Added export progress bar to Mimic UI
• Added new robot rigs for ABB, KUKA, and Staubli
• Improved robustness of exporting programs
• Improved annotations, comments, warnings, dialogs throughout
• Improved the Mimic codebase and squashed bugs throughout

What's next?

• More tutorials and documentation.
• Support for I/Os
• Support for Communication
• Full support for Poses and Configurations.

Important Note:

The new Analysis module is dependent on the NumPy library. Please read the installation instructions carefully

• For most users, the only required download is Mimic-v1.2.zip (includes only a few rigs).
• To obtain more robot rigs, download a rigs archive and merge it into mimic/rigs.
• There may be backwards-compatibility issues. For the best experience, use the latest code with the latest rigs; otherwise, start fresh with the material provided in this release.
• For installation instructions and a list of supported robots, see our README.
• Tutorials can be found at mimicformaya.com.

Mimic-v1.1

What's new?

• Added new robot rigs for ABB, KUKA, and Staubli!
• Support for External Axes!
• Partial support for Poses, Configurations, linear motion (ABB only)
• Support for Sampling Keyframes Only user option
• Improved sub-keyframe velocity, user-option, and program checks.
• Improved robustness of IK/FK keyframing
• Improved annotations, comments, warnings, dialogs throughout
• Improved the Mimic codebase and squashed bugs throughout

What's next?

• More tutorials and documentation.
• Support for I/Os
• Support for Communication
• Full support for Poses and Configurations.

• For most users, the only required download is Mimic-v1.1.zip (includes only a few rigs).
• To obtain more robot rigs, download a rigs archive and merge it into mimic/rigs.
• There may be backwards-compatibility issues. For the best experience, use the latest code with the latest rigs; otherwise, start fresh with the material provided in this release.
• For installation instructions and a list of supported robots, see our README.
• Tutorials can be found at mimicformaya.com.

Mimic-v1.0

This is the first public release of Mimic!

Mimic is a free and open-source plugin for Autodesk Maya that enables simulation, programming, and control of 6-axis, Industrial Robots. It provides a robust and intuitive, animation-based toolset, allowing creators to prototype, validate, and drive automated systems. Use Mimic to generate programs without writing any code, or extend Mimic to suit your project's needs.

• For most users, the only required download is Mimic-v1.0.zip (includes rigs).
• For installation instructions and a list of supported robots, see our README.
• Tutorials can be found at mimicformaya.com.