Exercise - Building a Complex Component

This exercise shows how to create a traffic cone with a double flashing lamp, using the 'newLED' component.

Setting up the LED component

• Open a new Flowcode flowchart.

• Ensure that the System Panel is visible. If not use the View menu.

• The following assumes that you have built, and exported a LED component, as described in Exercise - Create a LED component and Exercise - Exporting the LED component.

• Open the 'Outputs' toolbox, where you stored the exported 'newLED' component.

• Locate the 'newLED' component, and use the down-arrow next to it to add it to the System Panel.

• Click on the LED to select it. Change the 'color' property to orange (e.g. 0x0080FF).

• Using the Panel Properties, with the LED still selected, set its 'Position' to X=0, Y=0, Z=10, and its 'Scale' to 'Wi...'=1, 'He...'=1, 'De...'=0.25.

The component should resemble the picture opposite, (depending on the 'camera' zoom.)

Adding the second LED

• Click on the head of the vertical arrow, (green), to rotate the camera to give an 'edge-on' view.

• The LED should still be selected. If not, click on it. Right-click and select the 'Copy' option. Then right-click and select the 'Paste' option.

A second identical LED appears.

• Set its 'Position' co-ordinates to X=0, Y=0, Z=-10, and the 'Rotation' settings to X=0, Y=180, Z=0.

The System panel should now resemble the one shown opposite:

Mounting the LEDs

• Drag and drop a cube onto the System Panel.

• Select it, and set its 'Position' co-ordinates to X=0, Y=0, Z=0, and 'Scale' to 'Wi...'=32, 'He...'=12, 'De...'=32.

• Change its 'color' property to mid-grey (e.g. 0x5A5A5A).

The System Panel looks like the one opposite:

Building the traffic cone

• Drag across all three shapes and group them by clicking on the 'Group' icon.30px
• Notice that the 'Component Handle' and 'Type' have changed to 'Group'. Rename the 'Handle' as "flasher".

• Click on the head of the vertical arrow, (blue), to rotate the camera back to the 'head-on' view.

• Drag and drop a cone onto System Panel.

• Select it, and set its 'Position' co-ordinates to X=0, Y=-12, Z=0, 'Scale' to 'Wi...'=45, 'He...'=45, 'De...'=120 and 'Rotation' to X=-90, Y=0, Z=0.

• Change its 'color' to red (e.g. 0x0000C0).

• View it from different 'camera' directions by clicking on the heads of the red, green and blue arrows. It should resemble the picture shown below:

• Three views
• 
• 
• 

• Revert to the original (left-hand side) view.

• Drag and drop a cylinder onto the System Panel.

• Give it the following settings:

'Position' - X=0, Y=-75, Z=0;

'Scale' -'Wi...'=60, 'He...'=60, 'De...'=10;

'Rotation' - X=-90, Y=0, Z=0.

• Change its 'color' to dark red(e.g. 0x000080).

The completed traffic cone

• Drag across all three shapes and group them by clicking on the 'Group' icon.

The System Panel now looks like this:

Exporting the cone

• The traffic cone component can now be exported in the usual way, (see