spirals

[GUSTAF]

Is there any way to "square" a spiral? This would be theopposite of the smooth command. The spirals are draw circular. I would like to have the spirals convert to lines with corners. I would rather not take the time to draw each and every line manually. Does anyone know if this is possible?

Thank you,

gustaf

[Matthew Giampapa]

GUSTAF,

There are a few approaches you can take.

I'm assuming that your spiral is either made of arcs or polyline objects.

1) Use the convert to polygon command in the tool menu and then use the object information pallet or 2D reshape tool to remove extra points and straighten the lines.

2) Trace the spiral using the polygon tool by hand.

3) Write a simple VectorScript to find points along the spiral and connect them.

(John Williams' simplify poly script may be a good place to start, or very helpful with #1. Get is at http://www.aetherlumina.com/vw/.

Matthew GiampapaNNA Technical Support

[GUSTAF]

Matthew,

I was actually using the >spiral< command under Drafting Aids. Thanks for the reply and I will try the suggestions.

gustaf

[Matthew Giampapa]

The version 9 spiral object would have to be rewritten to accommodate the feature you want.

But you can place one of approximate size and ungroup it. This will turn it into a polyline with a whole bunch of straight segments. Which can be filtered down as described above.

Matthew GiampapaNNA Technical Support

[Tom Pearce]

Gustaf,

We?ve been using the spiral tool lately to plan out some volutes for a curved stair rail. We usually work on free standing furniture, so this is new to us.

It seems that the spiral tool approximates an involute, which, in non geometrical terms, is what would be generated by the end of a string unwinding off another object. The form that we usually think of is unwinding off a cylinder. Pardon, those of you who already know all this better than I.

You can take advantage of VW?s method of approximating with bezier points to your advantage. One can define the resolution of the control points. Generate a spiral to your liking, maybe with some experimenting. Set the segment angle to 90? for a square result. Un Group and Un Smooth to change all those bezier points to corner points.

You might have to clean up the ends. It seems to my uneducated mind that VW?s involute method leaves some anomalous shapes at the ends, but works well between.

Hope this helps.

BTW, does anyone have experience with drawing curved stair rails and their transitions?

Tom Pearce