Assistant: Cylinder Distribution.

How it works.

The Cylinder Distribution Assistant will create a virtual cylinder and distribute 3D layers throughout. Layers are placed around the axis within a cylinder that is defined by you.

By default, this functionality is similar to the Cubic Distribution Assistant. The difference is that with Cylinder Distribution, you can arrange layers in a spiral. The layers will rotate around the center of the cylinder as they are placed.

Otherwise, Cylinder Distribution behaves somewhat differently than the rest of the Assistants. Instead of measuring distance in a straight line from other layers, it
measures distance in angles and from the center of the cylinder shape.

Rotating around the Y-axis, a group of 3D layers distribute and expand like an accordian. [play]

The parameter list.

Interesting paramaters include Cylinder Size, which uses a bounding box to determine the size of the cylinder. Angle rotates the layers around the center of the cylinder like hands on a clock. Distance From Center determines how far away the layers' center point is from the center of the cylinder.

This movie takes 3D layers from a dome shape created by Spheriod Distribution, into a cylinderical spiral (shown above) created by Cylinder Distribution. [play]