Complex pipe structure & reference planes

[RaoulTittel]

Hi All,

Attached is an image of one of the many Complex pipe structures that I am working on for steel fabrication (family), you need to look at it first to get an idea of what I am trying to acheive.

I am creating these pipes using sweeps with reference lines at their centres, then I trace over them in 3D using pick path command when creating the extrusion. Is this a good way of doing it?

In trying to draw this particular element I have hit a problem. Drawing the curves that join the straights has become difficult as the straights don't align easily, and so I was wondering if there is a way of creating a reference plane by picking 3 points in 3d? This would be really, really useful!

The curve at the top left of the 'plan' joining the straights is difficult to draw as the straight on the left comes back at an angle and not perpendicular to say the rear vertical pipe work, which is drawn using another plane. I have managed to draw this so far by aligning it by eye, a dodgy way which is not really acceptable.

Found a way I think. A major part of the problem is that you cannot draw a reference plane in 3d! So after I have oriented to a plane perpendicular to the direction I want to draw, I then can draw an extrusion and then rotate the view in 3d and pick the face of the extrusion that aligns with the plane I want to draw on. A bit finicky really. Is there a better way?

I have used the align to plane in 3d 

Can anyone give me a clue how this all could be better done?

Thanks in advance,

Raoul

[Alfredo_Medina · Accepted solution]

Draw a dummy solid first, to be used as a guide to draw model lines and fillet curves on its faces. Then, use swep with "pick 3d edges".  As in this example:

[RaoulTittel]

Thanks for that Alfredo. Part of my issue is that a lot of this job is not rectiliniar, but in essence this method looks really good.

Cheers,

Raoul