Tube

Category

Annotation

Function

Changes a specified line into a tube.

Syntax

tube = Tube(line, diameter, ngon, style);

Inputs

Name	Type	Default	Description
line	field	none	line to be drawn as a tube
diameter	scalar	input dependent	tube diameter
ngon	integer	8	number of sides to the tube
style	string	"sphere"	style of tube caps

Outputs

Name	Type	Description
tube	field	a renderable tube

Functional Details

This module is intended for use with any module that creates lines (e.g., Streamline).

line	specifies the line that is to be changed into a tube. If a "normals" component is present (as would occur if the input field curl were used with Streamline or if the flag parameter is set in Streamline), the tube shows a corresponding twist. To show the twist most effectively, use the Ribbon module. Excessive amounts of twist can produce a pinching effect.
diameter	specifies the tube diameter in the same units as those of the original space. If this parameter is not specified, the module provides an appropriate value (1/50 of the diagonal of the boundary box of line. This value is attached to the output tube as an attribute called "Tube diameter," which can be extracted with the Attribute module.
ngon	specifies the number of sides of the cross-sectional polygon of the tube.
style	in the current version of Data Explorer has no effect.

Any transformation matrix applied to Tube, such as those created by the Scale module, may produce an unwanted effect of tranforming the Tube's geometry. To just transform the line but not the Tube, insert an Inquire module immediately before the Tube module, and set the inquiry option to "apply transform". This operation applies all transformation matrices changing the line's geometry, but prevents the transform from being carried forward onto the Tube geometry.

Components

Creates new "positions," "connections," and "normals" components. All other components are propagated to the output.

Example Visual Programs

Imide_potential.net
Interop.net
PlotLine2.net
RubberTube.net

See Also

 FaceNormals,  Ribbon,  Streakline,  Streamline