Pipe Along Path VS Lines to Tubes – Which Tube Creation Extension for SketchUp?
In this video, I wanted to talk about two plugins – Lines to Tubes and Pipe Along Path, where to get them, and when to use each one.
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THE SKETCHUP ESSENTIALS COURSE
http://www.thesketchupessentials.com/course
PIPE ALONG PATH DOWNLOAD
https://sketchucation.com/pluginstore?pln=PipeAlongPath
LINES TO TUBES DOWNLOAD
https://sketchucation.com/pluginstore?pln=lines2tubes
These two extensions are both extensions designed to allow you to create pipes and tubes along paths within your SketchUp model.
Pipe along path is an extension by TIG specifically designed for creating pipes along single paths or lines within your SketchUp model. It actually allows you to create a pipe with an inside and outside wall, as well as giving you the ability to adjust the number of segments in your tube.
It’s really great for pipes along single, continuous paths.
Lines to tubes is an extension by Didier Bur that allows you to convert a series of different lines into cylinders. It does not have an inside/outside wall option, but it does allow you to adjust the number of segments in the cylinders you create.
Unlike pipe along path, lines to tubes allows you to select multiple lines and convert them to tubes, whether they’re single paths, or if they’re just bunch of lines you’ve selected in your model, so it’s much better for things like this sandbox tools face.
The downside to lines to tubes is when it creates tubes along individual line segments, they don’t always align properly, so they’re literally in there as individual tubes, while curves created by pipe along path get smoothed, giving you a better looking result.
All in all, these are both important tools to have in your toolbox. I use lines to tubes all the time for areas where the target lines aren’t single continuous paths, and I use pipe along path whenever I can to create smooth segments.
About Justin Geis
Hi, I'm Justin Geis, and I'm the founder of The SketchUp Essentials. I started using SketchUp as part of my work as a general contractor in 2008. I quickly realized the power of the software and started using it for personal projects. I started The SketchUp Essentials as a place to share easy to follow SketchUp tutorials and tips to help everyone harness the power of 3D Modeling in their lives. When not working with SketchUp, I enjoy playing soccer and spending time with my wife and our two dogs.
