Creating a coiled tube in Pro/E?

[adamjt]

I need to create a coiled tube within Pro/E, so that it essentially looks like a spring with tubing returing back to the middle. I figured out how to do this with the helical sweep feature.
Now the problem is creating a portion of the tube that bends back to the middle and up from where the helical sweep left off.
If anyone could tell me how to do this or send over a CAD file of one premade so I can learn that would be great.
Thanks

 

[Guest0527211403]

Here's a general process to follow:

1) Create a datum point at the center of the end face of the helical sweep (the sweep must be normal to trajectory for this to work). To do this, use the edge as a reference and choose "center" as the type.

2) Create an axis through this point, normal to the face.

3) Create another point at the center of the tube. This point will be the terminating point for the new sweep.

4) Create a datum curve thru points, and select the two points. Adjust the start tangency so that it is tangent to the axis created in step 2. Tweak if necessary.

5) Use this curve as the trajectory for a new sweep feature to define your spring's end.

6) (optional) Repeat the whole thing for the other side. Mirroring or copying doesn't always work so smoothly, so I recommend just doing it again.

Hope it helps