I’m trying to use Lines to Tubes, with very minimal success. The command seems to be forever processing in most cases (larger selections). I have tried isolating smaller parts…It works on very simple arrangements…but looks to crash after 3 or so uses…I’ve tried upscaling the model by a factor of 1000, and is no better. Help!!
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Share the .skp file so we can see what you’re working with.
Please update your forum profile. It says you are using SketchUp 2021. Are you still using Windows 10 and the graphics card indicated in your profile?
There are alternatives to Lines to Tubes…but without seeing your model and what you’re trying to accomplish specifically, it’s hard to say whether or not they may run into the same issues.
Eneroth Pipe (paid)
Tig’s Pipe Along Path (Free)
@DaveR . Thanks for the response. I have updated my profile, sorry.
…the details in the graphics card look a bit generic from system:
My Laptop:
I haven’t been able to upload the .skp model as it’s larger than 16MB. I have created a component from the below described sample pipework range…I’ve uploaded this.
Pipework Range sample.skp (162.8 KB)
I have added some screen shots:
The first: On the left hand side this is the pipework element with all other items hidden. The right hand side is a copy of one pipework range as I’ve had to tidy it up quite a bit.
The second: a zoomed in version.
The third: a zoomed in version.
@eric-s . Thanks for the response. Are you able to see the details I used in my response to DaveR?
The radii of the arcs in your model are very small. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 to 25mm. This would result in issues with Follow Me especially if the radius of the tube is small and its number of sides large.
I would go through and delete the little extensions on either end of the arcs to make selection simpler. Then I would use the “Dave Method” of creating a component to contain the paths, copying the component and scaling it up by a factor of 1000, running Line2Tubes in the large copy and when it completes, closing the component and deleting it.
thanks @DaveR …I’ll try this.
@DaveR …Recognising what you stated regarding the size of the radii. I was trying to achieve a tube size of 75Ø…reducing this to 50Ø appears to work. It looks like the rule of thumb for me is ‘no more than 1.5-2 times the radii as a Ø’…and/or get the original modeller to model 3D pipework rather than single line…
So yeah. That would be an issue with the tiny radii in your model. After removing all those short edge segments on each side of every elbow (what a PIA!) I did what I described using the Dave Method with a 75mm dia. pipe and it works fine.
BTW, I would suggest turning off Length Snapping in Model Info>Units. And make sure tag usage is correct in your model. ALL edges and faces should be untagged. Only groups and components in the model should be given tags.
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Try reducing the number of sides on your tube geometry, as too many can slow down the process. Or use CGI by welpix