!Restored: hand rails

[Anonymous]

I am trying to place metal handrails (for ADA) on stairs and ramps, any body have a clue how i could show this? They need to stick out beyond the stair or ramp

[Anonymous]

ASH,
If you had CadImage's Profiler you could make this handrail.
You could script it in GDL or you can make one using
complex profiles and the beam tool.
I just made a sloped hand rail with ends that returned to the
wall by drawing a fill the shape of a 2" dia. circle and pasting
it into the complex profile editor and selecting the beam tool
to use the shape. The beam tool can make a sloped beam
so it can follow a stair or ramp.
Peter Devlin

[Laura Yanoviak]

Unfortunately, none of the stair tools out there allow for ADA requirements (not ArchiStair, StairBuilder, StairMaker nor the Stair Objects). I experimented with CadImages Profiler and the Trussmaker tool (both work OK) but have resorted to creating a "Simple Handrail" Object.

(if anyone can tell me how to fillet the corner with a radius...)

[Laura Yanoviak]

P.S. This object was "inspired" by "Rail Tube 10" from the AOL, which may very well suit your needs.

[Anonymous]

Laura,
Look at the code for the example TUBE in the GDL manual
to see how to code the path to make an arc.
This is all you need to "fillet the corner with a radius".
Peter Devlin

[Aussie John]

Peter wrote:
Laura,
Look at the code for the example TUBE in the GDL manual
to see how to code the path to make an arc.
This is all you need to "fillet the corner with a radius".
Peter Devlin

As far as I know tubes can only follow straight line paths so arcs need to be segmented.

[Anonymous]

John,
You are correct.
I should have been more precise and said "approximates an arc
with mitered straight segments".
Peter Devlin

[Laura Yanoviak]

Peter wrote:
Laura,
Look at the code for the example TUBE in the GDL manual
to see how to code the path to make an arc.
This is all you need to "fillet the corner with a radius".
Peter Devlin

That I did, and I understood it to a point, and then was totally lost (I wish the example was easier to follow).

[Anonymous]

Hello Laura,
I know exactly what you mean.
I just looked at that code again and "was totally lost".
When I was learning the TUBE command I re-wrote
the example so that I could understand it and to make
it parametric. Instead of using some arbitrary dimension
I, for example, used the variable "R" to stand for the radius
of the "arc". The attachment is this object and hopefully
the code is more clear than the code in the manual.
Peter Devlin

[Aussie John]

the cross section of the tube is defined (like a poly shape), then the path it follows is defined as xyz coordinates. The cross section can twist as it follows the path as well but from most instances stays at 0

The thing to note is the first and last sections of the path are always invisible and are used to define the angle of end mitres (ie if the path continues along the same line the end will be square, if goes off at 90º will have 45º mitre.)