5.4. Dynamically Creating and Destroying Joints

breve allows Joints to be created and destroyed dynamically over the course of the simulation.

Joining MultiBodies dynamically is simple—you simply link them as always using the various Joint subclasses. The joints can be made not only to modify the structure of a single MultiBody, but also to join together distinct MultiBodies.

Breaking MultiBodies is accomplished using the Joint method break. Breaking joints can be slightly more complicated than creating them, because it can disrupt the structure of the MultiBody. There are basically three scenarios to consider here, and they are described below.

NoteSummary on Links & Joints
 

All Links must be part of a MultiBody to be part of the simulation. If a Link becomes dissociated from its MultiBody, it will try to become part of whichever other MultiBody it is connected to. If it is not connected to another MultiBody, it is orphaned and will not exist in the simulated world. If, at a later time, it is again associated with a MultiBody, it will return to the world.