Making a curve with constant slope

[anonymousstudent]

Not sure if this is a very elegant solution, but in case it's of use, here's a screencast of a method to give a spline a constant 3D slope (well, almost constant, based on a couple of quick checks).

Summary: create a pipe with a square profile, add a variable fillet to one of the long edges of the pipe, a face with a constant slope (just about) results; unstitch that face, offset it to put it back in line with the sketch curve, and then create a pipe along the edge.

(The last bit of the screencast is just me adding a pipe in the sketch plane for comparison.)

[anonymousstudent]

On a related note, I haven't found a way to take a curve (i.e., from a 2D sketch as in the screencast) and create from it a pipe (or other 3D form) with a specified varying slope.

(For example, if the 2D curve were "unwrapped" so it appeared straight from a top view, a side view of the pipe would show a first length of the pipe along the horizontal, followed by a length of pipe along a tangent arc, followed by a length of pipe along a linear downward slope.)

[anonymousstudent]

Oh, I answered my own question... the trick is to go into sheet metal...

[laughingcreek]

seems like a centerline loft would be simpler and easier to manage, maybe just me.