Rope or cable on a curve

[Viper01]

Can anyone explain how to create a rope or multi-strand cable that can be created along a curved path.

I can create it using a helical along a straight path but that is not suitable for a rope/cable path.

I thought a swept protrusion would work but I cannot get it to work.

The rope is to have 6 outer strands wrapped around 1 iner strand. Each strand is approx 3mm diameter. The rope length varies along with the path it needs to take.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[beachcomber]

Hi Viper01,
Do you really need to model each strand of the rope?
Wouldn't a simple circular sweep suffice?

bc.
2.4GHz Core2 Quad, 4GB RAM,
Quadro FX4600.

 

[Viper01]

Beachcomber,

Yes I need to see the strands.

The rope/cable I am drawing has strands that are 30mm in diameter and are quite visible.

Actually the strands are the focus of the drawing.

Regards

 

[beachcomber]

A straight path is relatively easy, but I can't think how you would do a curved or irregular path.
You might be able to use a 'curve by table' to generate each strand path.
One of the problems is that the circles for the strand cross-sections are tangential and this will give errors in construction. You would probably have to overlap them or leave a slight gap.

bc.
2.4GHz Core2 Quad, 4GB RAM,
Quadro FX4600.