Online User Support

[Dave Johnson]

AutoCAD 2007 has a new linetype that is a helix. This object makes it very easy to create pipes that follow that type of path. The only drawback is that the linetype can't be created in AC2007 and then used by older versions. A pipe created with a helix in AC2007 and then opened in older versions of AutoCAD will be deleted.

Dave

[DPBell]

CRTech has learned that helix line types can be unstable when used with pipes in recent AutoCAD versions. We are working with AutoCAD to resolve this issue. In the mean time, here are a couple of options for creating helical pipes.

For the first option, create an AutoCAD helix (one turn is enough, but you can do more). Next go to Draw > Point > Divide, select the helix and specify a number of divisions. This command places x number of points along the selected curve, where x is the number of divisions (10 is not too bad). Hide or delete the helix, leaving the points. Use Draw > Spline to create a spline along the points. This spline can be used to create the FloCAD pipe.

If anyone can provide guidance on defining the end tangents, that is one part of this I had trouble with: I ended up just hitting <ENTER> for each end tangent.

The spline, can be graphically intensive, like the helix, which can slow down graphics response. If the spline causes problems, the process provided at the link below shows how to approximate a helix with arcs which are graphically simple. The shape is a little off, but the length is very close. www.crtech.com/forum/supportDocs/CreatingHelicalPipes.pdf