Cannot move the game object that has a skinned mesh renderer

Why isn't the mesh on the skinned mesh renderer moving when I move the "tube" object in my heierachy that has teh skinned mesh renderer component?




I have a rope object I'm trying to configure to interact with the world using physics.

For my first prototype, I had my artist friend construct a rigged cylinder in 3DS Max and I imported the FBX. I removed the animator component because it's not going to be animated in the tradiational sense, but with physics instead. Now I'm trying to understand what makes an object with a skinned mesh renderer a what it is versus adding component to an empty ame object munually.


Here's what the inspector looks like:


"tube" is the object in question that has the skinned mesh renderer. I'm trying to also make a procedurely created rope with the skinned mesh renderer while using a basic cylinder mesh because that's what was done in 3DS Max.

I have a procedurely created rope with the same structure as my fbx import with the bone objects. I apply the same rigidbody and character joint component to each bone in both, and I get the desire mechanical behaviour. But when I try to add a skinned mesh object to the procedure rope, it won't move with the rope while simulating physics, but my fbx import does.


When I delete the skinned mesh renderer on the "tube" without moving it, nothing happens except for the mesh disappearing. But when I move it then delete the compoenent, I get the following errors:


So, what is Unity doing in the background that makes this skinned mesh object speacial?
Why can't I munally create the same thing by adding the correct compoenent to an empty game object?
Does FBX contain some thing else that makes all the object in the herieachy beahve this way?