---
title: Tube
order: 1
---

A round tube through a path of points anywhere in 3D. Each point has its own radius, so the tube swells and thins along its length. It has no edge rounding: its surface is round already.

![a Tube of five points with different radii](../../assets/tube.webp)

## Settings

![the SDF panel of a Tube, a Corner point active](../../assets/tube-panel.webp)

| Setting | Default | Range | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Tube Radius** | `0.2` | > 0 (soft 5) | The thickness of the whole Tube. Each point's **Radius** multiplies it |
| **Cyclic** | off | | Closes the path into a loop (three points at least) |
| **Points** | | 2 points or more | The point list and the active point's rows, see [Points](points.md#the-points-panel). A Tube's rows show each point's **Radius** |

The rows every shape has are in [Properties Panels](../../interface/panels.md#rows-every-shape-has).

A new Tube has two Free points, two units apart along its local Z axis, whose handles bend the path.

## Radius ring

In [Edit mode](../../interface/edit-mode.md) a selected point shows a ring at the Tube's radius there. Drag it outward or inward to set that point's **Radius**; every selected ring scales by the same factor. `Ctrl` snaps to `0.1` (`Ctrl + Shift`: `0.01`), `Shift` is precision. `S` scales the Radius of every selected point with the mouse.

![Tab, a point dragged, then its ring dragged outward](../../assets/tube-edit.webp)

The point dots, rounding handles, point handles and add dots are on [Points](points.md#the-handles-in-the-viewport).

## Redo panel

After adding, the redo panel (`F9`) has **Tube Radius** (default `0.2`) and **Align** (*World*, *View*, *3D Cursor*).

## Limits

A Tube holds about 85 Smooth or Corner points (256 Free ones). Past that, adding a point reports *"No room for another point"*.

## See also

- [Points](points.md)
- [Rail](rail.md): the same path with a shaped section
- [From Curve](from-curve.md): a Tube from a Blender curve, keeping its point radii