This command creates a profile that contains the station, elevation and pipe width of pipes that cross the centerline. This type of profile is called a Crossing profile and Draw Profile treats it differently. Instead of connecting the station-elevation points with a polyline, Draw Profile draws each station-elevation as a circle with a radius of the pipe width. When there is vertical exaggeration in the drawn profile, the pipe circles are drawn as ellipses.
This routine uses a polyline that represents the centerline. The pipe polylines are 3D polylines with an assigned pipe width. One way to create them is to use the command Draw Pipe 3D Polyline in the Profile Utilities sub-menu. To attach the pipe width value to a polyline, use the Assign Pipe Width to Pline command also in the Profile Utilities sub-menu. The program then finds the intersections of the polyline centerline with the pipe polylines and stores the station of the intersection along the centerline with the elevation and pipe width of the pipe polyline. There is also a prompt to whether the pipe position is at the top, bottom or middle of the 3D pipe polylines.
Profile File to Write Dialog Enter new .PRO file
name.
Polyline should have been drawn in direction of increasing
stations.
CL File/<Select polyline that represents centerline>:
pick a polyline
Enter the starting station <0.0>: press
Enter
Select the pipe polylines crossing the centerline.
Select objects: pick pipe polylines
Position of pipe polylines on pipe
[Top/Center/<Bottom>]? press
Enter
Found 2 crossing pipe
polylines.
The command Draw Profile would then interpret
this profile as a pipe profile, and plot it as needed.
Pulldown Menu Location: Profiles > Profile from
...
Keyboard Command: propipe
Prerequisite: A polyline centerline and pipe
polylines