Request: draw segmented line

TeKnoel · 20 Mar 2010, 23:52

I've been using TIG's awesome set of extrusion tools for a little while and i love it. I often use it to meld a curved surface into a flat one. It would be great to have a tool that lets you create a straight segmented line. If you could set the number of segments like you can with the arc tool and then draw a straight line you could then use that line in conjuncture with the lofting scripts. I've been drawing a line, dividing it and then welding it back together. This works but is pretty painful when you have to do a lot of this. I have no idea how complicated it would be but i think it might be a powerful addition to this tool set. Thanks!

TIG · 21 Mar 2010, 00:22

I often do this...
Let's say you have two profiles [or rails] - one is an 'arced' Curve and the other is a straight Line.
I have shortcut keys and that makes it quicker than making another tool and activating that etc etc.
Alt+E = Entity Info
Select the Curve
Press Alt+E and read the number of edges = segments
Ctrl+D = Divide
Select the Line
Press Ctrl+D and type in a number to match the segments + <enter>
The new edges remain selected.
J = Weld [Join]
Press J and the edges get made into a new Curve - answer N[o] to the two 'weld' dialogs that pop-up.
You now have a straight-curve the match the 'arc'.
The number of clicks etc is no more than using another tool ?

Having said that... if you use my 2D Tools, then the Line tool can toggle between drawing 'flat' individual Lines, Lines joined into a PolyLine [Curve] and Guide/Clines - so if you want a straight line that's a curve you could draw it with that tool as an alternative...

I wouldn't...

jeff hammond · 21 Mar 2010, 00:42

as tig said, the trick is welding the segments immediately after dividing them. that way, you won't have to select all the individual segments to weld because they stay selected after dividing.

TeKnoel · 21 Mar 2010, 01:07

Thanks for your replies Fellas!
and much props for all the awesome work, but the work flow that you suggest is exactly what i have been doing. unfortunately i have to do it over and over again for a large project and i thought it might be an opportunity to reduce the steps involved. I did look at the 2-d tool set, TIG but your kinda right its cool but not really workable for this particular problem.

Thanks

TeKnoel · 21 Mar 2010, 01:15

Oh!

I just discovered that the polyline segmentor will divide a line without breaking it apart. That helps!