PipeAlongPath
TIG (c) 2005 - 2013
Description : Creates circular faced 'followme' pipe extrusions along a path -
Use it to make pipes, ducts etc, starting from a selection of joined edges
Usage :
Select joined lines, arcs, circles, curves, etc.
Select "Pipe Along Path" from the Plugins menu.
In the dialog choose:-
Units (mm/inch):
Outside diameter:
Inside diameter:
Number of segments:
Cpoints?: [Yes/No, default=true to add cppoints at the pipe's vertices]
Cline layer: [layer for the path, default="XCLINE", make blank for 'none']:
In group?: [Yes/No to move selected path into pipe's group, default=true]
OK.
Setting are remembered during a session.
The extrusion is made*.
The extrusion is grouped so it does not interact with adjacent surfaces -
afterwards just explode it if appropriate.
Edit it to intesect with model and tidy up to make tees etc...
The pipe also has construction points added at vertices if set Cpoints=true.
These can be used for snapping, if not wanted 'erase construction geometry'
will remove them globally or just within a group that you are editing.
One Undo to remove the construction points, a second to Undo the Pipe itself.
The default for extrusion face segments is 24, the minimum is 3.
The alignment is always 'Centroid' - along the pipe's centre line.
The diameter is always measured square to the vector of the
first path's line. A diameter that is less than the length of pieces of path
edge might give correct but unexpected extrusions, which might need manually
tidying...
Closed loop paths are fully extruded in a loop.
Multiple arcs and other complex 3D paths might give unexpected results.
Note that SketchUp can't handle very small faces in its FollowMe mode - so any
Arc bends of 8" radius or less that have the same radius for the pipe (o/d)
applied will almost certainly cause a crash / "bug splat" and are trapped out
BUT note that similar radii in 'welded' Curves are NOT easily trappable and so
they may always cause a crash with a "bug-splat", so avoid using these type of
path with small radii bends/pipes - or you can keep it but use 'scale' as
explained below...
IF you must have this matching small diameter pipe and arc or welded elbow
bends then to get it to work you can make the path a
group, scale it by a factor so it's larger (say x10), then
edit it and use this tool within it applying the diameters x10,
after it's all made scale the group back down by x0.1 and
explode it and it'll all be OK.
#
Both diameters cannot be zero and will return an error.
If one of the diamaters is zero then you get a 'tube' rather
than a pipe.
If the diamaters entered are equal the inside one is taken as
zero and you will then get a 'tube' rather than a pipe.
If the inside's diameter is greater than the outside's then
they are swapped.
A branching path returns an error as 'FollowMe' can't decide
which path to take.
Selected edges that are not joined (i.e. they don't all have
common ends-starts) will not be extruded - only the first edge
or joined group of edges will extrude.
Version :
1.0 18/9/5 first release.
1.1 18/9/5 visual segmenting of arced sections etc addressed.
1.2 9/2/6 centrepoints added at vertices of non-looped paths,
occasional reversed faces on single 'up' line fixed.
1.3 16/2/6 undo of cpoints fixed, diam <8" with matching arc
elbow bend radius bug splat trapped (but not curves).
1.4 2/5/6 group name -> OD=xx ID=nn with " or mm as units.
1.5 3/5/6 Transposed ID/OD fixed (sorry!).
1.6 12/5/7 @error=0 ### fix
1.7 20121019 Rehashed to modern standards, dialog based options to add cpoints
at nodes, put selected path onto a specified layer and move the
path inside the pipe-group
1.8 20130115 Fixed typo glitch when path was lone vertical downward line.
won't endear you to anyone... 
