helix along a path?

[SUNDEMON]

hi
I've been looking around the forum for a helix lisp that will run along a path. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
thanks
sundemon

 

[hyposmurf]

Hi Sundemon, what do you want to do?

It is easy to extrude any profile on a 2d path , but only a circle on a 3d path.

http://www.cadtutorforum.net

 

[SUNDEMON]

hi hyposmurf;
sorry for the delay in getting back to you, I had a day off!
I was trying to draw a 3D flexible accordian-type hose running along a curved path. I thought that if I could run a helix along the path, that would be a useful visual element in the drawing. I have a few helix lisps, but the only can be created in a straight line. I searched around various lisp libraries, but I didn't see anything that would follow a path.
As a workaround, I ended up creating a helix with a single revoltion, making that a block, and placing an aligned arrangement along the curved path through the "measure" command.

Still, I would be interested to know a good method to represent a bending flexible hose.

BTW, I have extruded shapes other than a circle along the helix, but the alignment of the extruded shape can be unpredicatble. Also, you end up with a very heavy drawing in terms of file size.

Thanks for answering,
sundemon

 

[anotherpipeguy]

A helix for every occasion.

http://www.cadpanel.com/downloads/spiral.zip

and...

http://new.cadalyst.com/code/browseyear.cfm?fullyear=2000

"we should only try to get even with those that are helping us."