help with tubing [noob alert]

[jer]

Hi Everyone,
I've been lurking on these boards for years. Chico's mech designs have inspired me to try some mech-type models of my own. I've been trying to model some ribbed tubes/pipes in Maya and I get ok results, but there must be a better way.
My method:
1. extrude a NURBS circle along a CV curve
2. convert to poly's
3. select every second row of faces and extrude, keeping faces together

The problem is that it's painstaking and the results look sloppy--very uneven distances between the ribs. I'm sure there must be a simpler/better way to do this.

If someone could point me to a good tutorial, I'd really appreciate it.
cheers,
jer

[Daz]

This is probably a bit on the hacky side. I've always been that way when it comes to modeling really. I've always had a lot of problems with the whole lofting type extruding shapes down paths technique, but Ive got a feeling that stuffs better in Max. But for this guy:

http://www.daz-art.com/tube1.jpg

It was a case of:

make cylinder, assign UV's.
Skin with joint at each segment edge loop. Pose accordingly, del history.
Select each edge loop down the length and bevel until you have 4 edges close together at each segment edge loop.
Select the middle row of faces for each group of segment loops and and globally extrude inward to create the grooves.
Smoothx2 levels

Heres the unsmoothed wire:

http://www.daz-art.com/tube2.jpg

Judging by the speed of his immaculate work, Im sure Chico has some far better techniques.

[jer]

Thanks, Daz. I'll give it a shot.
cheers,
jer

[Rhinokey]

in that case, i would make a spline, in its modifi panel set it to renderable, check generate uv's, adjust its thickness to what you want, then go to vert mode on the spline and pose it however, colapse, to EP then select the edge loops where you want the inset rings, and extrude them in