Reference Section > Shape Library > Other Shapes

The Pipe Comb is a rectangular plate with a row of equal semicircular notches along one long edge. Each notch is half a circle of the given Diameter, so a row of pipes or round bar of that diameter can sit in the notches – for example a pipe rack, pipe support or cradle plate. The notches are evenly spaced, with a plain shoulder of plate at each end of the row.

It appears in the shapes library under Other Shapes. It has no other names (aliases).

Insert point and orientation

The insert point is the top left corner of the plate. The notched edge runs from the insert point along the positive X axis, and the plate hangs down from it: the bottom edge is Height below the insert point. The notches are cut down into the top edge, each a half circle with its centre on the top edge, Diameter / 2 deep.

Along the top edge, from left to right, there is the Left Shoulder, then the first notch, then a Gap, the next notch, and so on, then the Right Shoulder. The overall width of the plate is:

Left Shoulder + (Num. of holes × Diameter) + ((Num. of holes – 1) × Gap) + Right Shoulder

With the default sizes that is 50 + 3 × 75 + 2 × 12.5 + 25 = 325 mm wide and 125 mm high. The outline is a single closed path. Use Rotation to point the notched edge in another direction.

Properties

Property	Description	Default
Diameter	Diameter of each notch, measured along the top edge. Each notch is a half circle of this diameter, Diameter / 2 deep. Length (mm or inch). Cannot be negative. 0 leaves the top edge straight.	75 mm (3 in)
Gap	Length of straight top edge between one notch and the next. Length (mm or inch). Cannot be negative. 0 puts the notches edge to edge, meeting in a sharp point.	12.5 mm (0.5 in)
Height	Height of the plate, from the notched top edge down to the plain bottom edge. Length (mm or inch). Cannot be negative. The material left under each notch is Height – Diameter / 2.	125 mm (5 in)
Left Shoulder	Length of plain top edge from the left end of the plate (the insert point) to the start of the first notch. Length (mm or inch). Cannot be negative.	50 mm (2 in)
Num. of holes	Number of semicircular notches in the top edge. Whole number. Cannot be negative. 0 gives a plain rectangle Left Shoulder + Right Shoulder wide (see the note below).	3
Right Shoulder	Length of plain top edge from the end of the last notch to the right end of the plate. Length (mm or inch). Cannot be negative.	25 mm (1 in)

The dimensions drawn on the shape are Height, Left Shoulder, Right Shoulder, and the Diameter and Gap of the first notch.

Limits

The property page does not accept a value below 0 for any of the six properties; a negative entry is refused with a warning message. The Pipe Comb has no other range checks, and it does not check the relation between Height and Diameter. If the outline cannot be built, the property page shows the red banner Warning: Cannot build shape from these parameters. No outline is drawn, a broken-shape marker is drawn at the insert point, and the dimensions are not rebuilt, so they keep the values from the last good build. The banner clears when a rebuild succeeds. Keep to this limit yourself:

•Height must be more than Diameter / 2. If it is not, the notches break through the bottom edge and the outline crosses itself. The shape does not check this.

With Num. of holes set to 0 the shape is a plain rectangle, Left Shoulder + Right Shoulder wide, but it is built upwards from the insert point – the insert point becomes the bottom left corner instead of the top left. Expect the part to jump when you change between 0 and 1 holes.

Every 2D shape also has the Transform properties (Base X, Base Y, Rotation, Scale, Mirroring X) and the Polar Array properties, listed after the shape's own properties.