How to draw a bugle

paul_schröfl

I want to draw objects which have a lot in common with the bugle I've attached:
If it was straight instead of wound, it would be easy:  Create a spline, and rotate the spline around an axis. This would result in a large,,straight  tube (which could be used to make music, too)
But then this tube should be  bended along a given 3D-spline.
How could I do this? Is there a way to bend some  part along a curve? 
Or is there some better way to draw a bent tube?

glen_dewsbury

Something like this?
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/fa40a8e0adf37af8a2dd7498/w/91a671687060dc5bdeb87877/e/b0c078a875af9bb29aed37e2

paul_schröfl

@glen_dewsbury :   Of course, I could simplify my model and break it down into simple parts like cylinders, tori, and revolution bodies. However, that would lead to a huge number of tiny parts. Imagine I have a stretched trombone, which has no parallel walls at any point and also no circular cross-section (therefore I can't use cylinders or a torus). I then bend this tube along a three-dimensional spline. The only solution that comes to mind is to construct a plane normal to the spline every 5mm, draw the cross-section on the plane, and connect the individual cross-sections. But that is extremely tedious.

S1mon

You will need to be more specific with the shape you're trying to create. Typically you want to start with the smallest number of cross sections possible with a loft or other surfacing, and only add when necessary to get the shape you want. There are some custom features to create freeform 3D splines, but a lot can be done with 2D pieced together and/or intersections and/or bridge curves. It really depends on exactly what shape you need.