This tool allows you to draw pipes. Option click the tool to select the dimension of the pipes. The pipe diameter can be entered and also the 'Outer bend radius', this controls a special facility which controls sharp bends in the pipes. If you enter zero here, mitre joints will be generated. If you input half the pipe diameter, the outer half of the join will be radiused and the inner half mitred - just like an pipe elbow. If you enter a value more than twice the pipe radius, the gradual bends will be generated of the size you specified, provided there is sufficient straight pipe each side of the bend to generate it. Otherwise the radius is reduced.
The 'Sides' value controls how many vertices are used to form each cross section of pipe. The main program's preference 'Sides to a circle' controls the accuracy with which bends in the pipe are formed.
The tool works in a similar way to the lathe and irregular polygon tools, except that it is not restricted to one plane. The control key is used for depth, the shift key for constraining, the option key for drawing curves manually, and double clicking the mouse ends the pipe.
The pipes are entered so that if you put a pattern on them it will wrap around the pipe once, and repeats along the pipe the same distance as a circumference of the pipe.
