Follow Me Tool problem

[rcase]

I am working on a spiral shaped ramp to a pedestrian overcrossing. I've attached a couple of pics to illustrate my problems. I'm using a flat rectangle to extrude but when it get towards the end of the spiral path its tilted dramatically. I've tried starting at both ends, results are the same both ways. Does anyone know how to keep the shape flat going all the way up the spiral path? Thanks for the help.

 

Rusty

[Ernest Burden III]

I haven't gotten deep enough into SU to even know that tool. But most 3D apps do what you showed if you choose a setting called 'banking'. Some say 'keep Z' or similar. Just look for setting with the follow tool, chances are you'll find one linke that to control whether the sweep banks or stays flat.

[CHE]

I think that this is a limitation of the tool. I too ran into the same problem when modeling hand rails for a stair. I end up modeling that part in 3dsmax.

[rcase]

Thanks guys. The tool is pretty straight forward so there really isn't any options to be adjusted. I'm probably going to just import the path into Max and loft the ramp. Would still like to know a fix, if any, for SU though.

[P.R.S. Sivakumar .]

This is not possible with SketchUP. I use this tool a lot. Try looking for a ruby script in Google Search. As far as I know such script does not exist even in Smustard.com which has most of the scripts. Please let me know if you do find one!. I would very much like to use it.

 

Greetings

PRSS

[hparch]

The reason for this is that your spiral path is also rotating about its own z axis, so the profile that you are using the Follow Me tool on stays perpendicular to the base axis, hence the "banking".

 

No fix for this exists that I know of, however, if you set the banked spiral away from the upper platform yo are trying to connect to, you can then connect the points of appropriate corners with lines to make faces that will then graduate back from the banking to the horizontal.