Senior Model Builder Peter Firkins explains how he draws long, continuous solid objects from a sectional view.

"I often have to model conveyor belt lines to show how different areas of the plant are linked. If the belt is too long for the program, it must be modeled in sections that are joined together afterward. My solution is to run a polyline along the whole belt length, and then place a belt cross section at the starting point. Then I just scale it all down by a factor (e.g., 0.1), extrude along the polyline, and scale it up again (e.g., 10X)."

Notes from Cadalyst Tip Patrol: There are many ways to model long objects. The Sweep command, as described in this tip, is one of them. With Sweep, you draw a cross-section view of your object. It should be a closed polyline, or shape. The Sweep command will essentially extrude this cross section along a path, giving the shape depth. The pathway is typically a polyline, or it could be a spline. It can have curves in it and it can even change elevations.