Thanks for the response. I am not getting the error message in the second step nor am I getting the cursor with a horizontal line and a prompt at the bottom of the window telling me to select the Guide Line. All I get after selecting the component to bent is the cursor pointer. I can't select any thing. I have to reselect the selection tool to get out of shape bender. Are you working on a Mac or pc? I am working on a Mac.
Thanks

Judy

@august said:

@judy nielsen said:

... Attached is a sample file.

I have opened your file and at first I thought there is an extra edge at the top near edge of your rectangle group, outside the group. But it turns out that you have two identical groups on top of each other.

[attachment=6:2f1c1pv9]<!-- ia6 -->Judy Bender_sample 00.PNG<!-- ia6 -->[/attachment:2f1c1pv9]

But that shouldn't matter. Either you have just one of those selected when you activate the tool or the tool should give you an error message.

[attachment=5:2f1c1pv9]<!-- ia5 -->Judy Bender_sample 01.PNG<!-- ia5 -->[/attachment:2f1c1pv9]

After activating the tool you get a cursor with a horizontal line and a prompt at the bottom of the window telling you to select the Guide Line. After you select the Guide Line, the cursor changes to have a bent line and the Start and End of the Guide Line are identified.

[attachment=4:2f1c1pv9]<!-- ia4 -->Judy Bender_sample 02.PNG<!-- ia4 -->[/attachment:2f1c1pv9]

Click the Target Curve and the tool computes for a little while and then shows you the mapping of it's proposed bend. Sometimes this is not right. The arrow keys let you change mapping modes.

[attachment=3:2f1c1pv9]<!-- ia3 -->Judy Bender_sample 03.PNG<!-- ia3 -->[/attachment:2f1c1pv9]

There are some important points to notice in this this mapping:

• The number of segments that the Source Group is devided into is the number of segments of the Target Curve.
• The distance between the Guide Line and the Source Group will be the same as the distance between the Target Curve and the Result Group.
• The mapping from the Guide Line to the Source Group is done perpendicular to the Red axis.

Press Enter to accept the Proposed Bend.

[attachment=2:2f1c1pv9]<!-- ia2 -->Judy Bender_sample 04.PNG<!-- ia2 -->[/attachment:2f1c1pv9]

You said you were trying to create multiple bends in tubing. (I presume the various Follow Me tools, the original SU version and the Ruby enhancements, are not working for you for some reason.) Here is what happens if the Guide Line is shorter than the Source Group:

[attachment=1:2f1c1pv9]<!-- ia1 -->Judy Bender_sample 05.PNG<!-- ia1 -->[/attachment:2f1c1pv9]
I think that's a very tubing-like bend.

If the Guide Line is longer than the Source Group, you get this kind of thing:

[attachment=0:2f1c1pv9]<!-- ia0 -->Judy Bender_sample 06.PNG<!-- ia0 -->[/attachment:2f1c1pv9]
I have used this when I was wrapping text around a circle to allow a little space between words.

This was all done in your model file. I didn't even remove the extra component.

If this is not working for you, please let us know EXACTLY what is happening for you. Can you get the error message as in the second image above?

I hope this helps,
August

@chris fullmer said:

Also you can upload your test model to the forum here and we can look at it and see if there is anything wrong with the set up. Once we determine if the model is correct, we can troubleshoot the rest of the script

Chris

I have tried all I can think of. Attached it a sample file.

Thanks

Judy

this is a simple test to see if my set up is ok.

@chris fullmer said:

If you feel the plugin is installed correctly, and still can not select the red line, you might need to reset the model axis. The script only recognizes the original red axis. So try activating the select tool, then right click on the red axis and choose "Reset Axis". Then realign your items to be bent to that axis. If the option to reset axis is greyed out, then that means the axis already is correct, and the problem is something else. Good luck,

Chris

I also am having a problem selecting the red line. The plug in is there and seems to be activated. I tried resetting the red axis and the option was grayed out. I tried opening a new document created a rectangle, grouped it, created a parallel line on the red axis, created a curved line parallel to the rectangle. I then selected the rectangle but can not go any further. I am working on a mac. Any ideas? I would really like to use the Shape Bender plug in. I have to create multi curved tubing.

Thanks for any help.

Judy