[Plugin] PipeAlongPath
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@geertpeeters said:
I downloaded the script, unzipped it into my sketchup 8 plugins folder, but can't seem to find it in my plugins folder which I activated via the preferences. Is this not compatible with scketchup 8? I need to design a tube welded luggage carrier for a vintage motorcycle, and I'm eager to use the plugin for this.
It has no issues with v8 - it's a simple tool using basic API calls and works in most available versions, and should continue on with any yet to be born...
I don't understand you - the file is not 'zipped' - so needs no 'unzipping' - , it's a simple .rb file that is put into the Plugins, folder... when Sketchup restarts it's auto-loaded and appears in the Plugins menu: also when you say, '...find it in my plugins folder when I activated it via the preferences...'
You just said that it's in your Plugins folder, you put it there - what path did you use ? The same as you get when you type $LOAD+PATH in the Ruby Console ? Like "C:/Program Files/Google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins" ?
You do not need to activate it in Preferences, like many simple/older tools it appears in the Plugins menu automatically - is this your confusion ?It can be a false assumption to expect a file to be where the 'explorer window' says it is - especially with Windows, because if you have restricted security permissions to the Plugins folder, it actually resides in a 'VirtualStore' - so it doesn't auto-load as it should ! Is Linux similar ?
Assuming it's a simple thing to get it working for you... a bike-rack is likely to have small diameter tubes with some tight bends, this can cause issues with tools like followme when used manually, so the equivalent inside Ruby can also have issues. There are warning messages. If you get these messages, or the pipe fails, the fix is to scale up the path x10, making due allowance in the diameters too, then extrude the pipe and scale down to the original size x0.1.
If you are 'joining' tubes use 'intersection' - again best during the scaled-up phase...
Very tiny edges and facets [<~0.1mm] fail to be made by Sketchup/OpenGL because of tolerance issues returning two almost identical points as being the same point, and therefore no edge [and related face] gets made... Such tiny edges/facets can exist [e.g. after they are scaled down], but they can't be made.Let us know how you get on...
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Here's v1.8 http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=7547#p7547
A code-typo glitch, that only manifested itself with a half-baked pipe group, when the selected path was a single vertical line drawn in a downward direction, is now sorted... -
Legend....!
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Thanks, TIG!
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Who can tell me，why can't i download this plugins，please
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@baiduaiya said:
Who can tell me，why can't i download this plugins，please
You give us few details of your problem...
There is a download link on the very first page of this thread [just like with 99.9% of all toolsets' threads].
BUT if you can't see that link [i.e. all attachments and images etc are 'blocked'], and instead you get a red-colored warning banner about 'Ad Blockers', then you are not keeping your agreement in the ToS when you took up membership.
Because SCF is mainly funded by modest advertising revenues [and without them we will no longer exist!] then those advertisers need to have confidence that their information will be seen by users. All of SCF's ads are filtered to be relevant to Sketchup, CAD, rendering etc, and can be of considerable interest to members...
If you have add-ons for your web-browser - like 'AdBlock' - you need to deactivate it for SCF pages, then after a 'refresh' you will be able to see all of the forum's attachments [and the ads]... Other tools that can also 'block ads' are add-ons named something like 'do-not-track' and full-on javascript-blockers like 'NoScript', also your computer's 'Internet' or 'Firewall' settings might be too limiting to SCF and be seen as blocking ads too. Most members access SCF quite happily, just a few have issues - they are resolvable with a little effort...
Try using different web-browsers like IE, Firefox and Chrome to see if one in particular has blocking add-ons active - then disable them or at least deactivate them for SCF pages... -
Very useful plugin! I just wish for it to work at intersections)
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@dem said:
Very useful plugin! I just wish for it to work at intersections)
It's not so difficult to make the two pieces and then edit them in turn, intersecting with model so the cuts form and deleting the unneeded parts... Use View > Component Edit > Hide rest of model > ON, so you can better see what you are doing...
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@tig said:
@dem said:
Very useful plugin! I just wish for it to work at intersections)
It's not so difficult to make the two pieces and then edit them in turn, intersecting with model so the cuts form and deleting the unneeded parts... Use View > Component Edit > Hide rest of model > ON, so you can better see what you are doing...
I know, but in this case, I prefer not to glue the groups to avoid of producing unnecessary polygons
It is good if them two, but sometimes you have to transform into pipes complex structures. -
thx...bro
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nice job thank you!
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@tig said:
This ruby ('PipeAlongPath.rb') doesn't round corners, it makes a 'pipe' along a 'path' - although you could use it to add 'piping-trim' to shapes too... To round the corners of things use something like Fredo's 'Round Corners' script
Fredo's Rounded Corners plugin is awesome. Thanks for the lead. I'm sure I'll get lots of great use out of it.
For people looking to create pipes with rounded corners, I'll suggest this method of creating them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrdW_mN7Tt8You will, of course, be giving up all of the additional benefits of the PipeAlongPath.rb plugin if you use the "Follow Me" tool method from the video. But, that's the trade off. You have lots of options to choose from. You use what works best for your situation.
I mean no disrespect to TIG by offering an alternative.
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You should of course use and understand the native tools before considering the use of any 'plugin'.
The linked video does show a somewhat simple use of FollowMe...
One thing it fails to explain is that if you first preselect the path's edges/curves, then you activate FollowMe and then pick the desired profile-face, the whole extrusion is done in one go, without you having to drag the extrusion around the path... This is often the easier way.
The other principle advantage of PipeAlongPath is that the face-profile is automatically made perpendicular to the first edge in the path, this can be awkward to create manually if the path doesn't start along an axial vector...
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So Tig, ever thought about extending your plugin to basically spoof thick lines?
- one more menu item: Pipe vs duct
- inner and outer diameters ==> width and height
- In your "getting to real work" section, use the menu item to determine
if creating a circular face or a rectangle - etc
It would be a great way to make thick lines and not suffer from the aliasing issue on curves in the other plugin that seems focused on this kind of thing.
on top of spoofing thick lines, I guess, it could be a great way to make a serpentine wall easily (draw the line freehand or whatever, call your plugin and set width height, execute)
For thick line width = say 5mm Height = say 0.1mm
For wall width say 100mm height say 1000mm -
TIG - it's late at night and I have about a hundred little pipes to draw - each at a slightly different angle - before tomorrow morning, and have just stumbled across your plugin. I could cry I am so pathetically grateful, I thought I was going to be up all night doing it. Thanks so much!
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Great plugin. Many thanks
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Version v1.9 now available in the PluginStore.
http://sketchucation.com/pluginstore?pln=PipeAlongPath
It has a trap for the occasional lockup if the path has a very slight skew and changes of direction, which SketchUp's FollowMe can't handle.
It now allows any units to be used in ne input [defaults to Model Units display]
It remembers the last used options across sessions and globally for all models. -
Version v2.0 now available in the PluginStore.
http://sketchucation.com/pluginstore?pln=PipeAlongPath
The lockup/skew trap is now improve and far less likely to appear.
The v2014 graphics glitch with some pipes not appearing smooth unless they were subsequently edited is resolved.
The name now better reflects if the pipe's internal diameter == 0. -
Hello there.
Is there any RAR file available for this plugin? I really don't know how to install sketchUcationTools.rbz
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I see that you have SU8. If you have the latest version of SU8 you must be able to install .rbz by clicking on window-->preferences-->extensions-->install extension.
If you want to install the plugin manually, just rename the .rbz as .zip and unzip it.
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