To Copy A Shape Along A 3D Curve

1. Select the desired shape to copy.
2. Turn on the TriBall command (F10).
3. Right-click and drag from the center point of the TriBall onto a 3D curve shape to copy along.
4. In the resulting pop-up menu, select copy/link along the curve (Note: Link is not supported in Structured Parts).
5. Enter the settings.
6. Number – Set the number of copies/links.
7. Distance – Enter the distance spacing along the curve. Note: Not available if Evenly Distributed is set.
8. Evenly Distributed – Select this option to evenly distribute the number of copies/links along the curve.
9. Orient along tangent – Select this option to orient the X direction of the anchor along the tangency of the curve. By default the shape will maintain its original orientation. If the 3D Curve resides on a surface, the Z axis will align normal to the surface while aligning the X axis to the 3D Curve.
10. Select Ok to create the copy/link.

To Import Data For 3D Curves

1. From within an active scene, select the 3D Curve Shape tool from the Surface Fluent Ribbon Bar or 3D Curve Creation toolbar.  Note that the 3D Curve Tool command bar is activated in the Scene Browser container:
2. Under the Menu, select Import into 3D Sketch and the desired Import option:
3. Import Spline – Select this option to import data points that will be fitted with a spline curve. If the text file is made up of just point locations, the data will fit a spline through the points. Use Header information to import different curve types.
4. Import Reference Points -  Create reference points based on text point locations located in a text file.
5. Import Header Defined - mport Text File to 3D Curve with Header Information (Line, Spline, Point, etc). the data file is *.dat.
   
   Point Format:
   
   POINT
   x1,y1,z1
   x2,y2,z2
   ….
   xn,yn,zn
   
   Line Format:
   
   LINE
   x1,y1,z1
   x2,y2,z2
   ….
   xn,yn,zn
   
   Spline Format:
   
   SPLINE
   x1,y1,z1
   x2,y2,z2
   ….
   xn,yn,zn
   
   (x1,y1,z1)?(x2,y2,z2)?…(xn,yn,zn) are coordinate points. The data can be tab, space, or comma delimited.
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6. Select ok to import the data.
7. Continue to use the 3D curve creation methods or hit ok to finish the command.