## Introduction

What is DMM?

DMM is a material physics simulator that uses the finite element method to make objects in a virtual world behave as if they were made from real-world materials. In the simulator each object is represented as a tetrahedral mesh.

A tetrahedron is simply a triangular pyramid. It has four faces, each being a triangle.

A tetrahedral mesh is formed by having tetrahedrons share faces, edges and vertices. A tetrahedral mesh is used to deform a surface mesh. The deformed surface mesh is what the viewer sees. Surfaces meshes can be prepared for fracture as well. In that case fracture of the finite element (tetrahedral mesh) results in the visible object breaking realistically. Tetrahedral meshes are sometimes referred to as Tet Meshes.

What can the Digital Molecular Matter plugin for Maya do?

The DMM plugin makes it easy to create tetrahedral meshes in any shape. It allows the user to adjust the mesh densities, and identify what parts of each mesh should be controlled by the simulator and what parts should be fixed or animated by Maya.
The plugin automatically prepares surface meshes for deformation fracture. The plugin can export DMM objects for import into a video game engine containing the DMM simulator. The plugin also contains a DMM simulator so a user can run simulation in Maya to preview how objects will act in a game.
The plugin lets the user mix Maya animation with DMM simulation and create 3D DMM animation sequences for replay in a game. Of course Maya can be used to render videos that contain DMM simulation. The DMM plugin can be used to create deformed and fractured versions of art assets. For instance to create a bombed out building, an explosion can be set off in a pristine building and the resulting damaged building could be exported as an art asset.

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