Drawing a spring

[Julian1k]

I need to draw a spring where the ends are close coiled and ground which the standard helix command does not achieve, it just leaves them open. Any ideas as to how i can do this?

 

[aamoroso]

You can find some springs on this site, but I know there are some better spring models out there

http://www.zxys.com/swparts/

Better ones are available at 3d Content Central under the User Library

http://www.3dcontentcentral.com/3DContentCentral/cc_frame.asp

 

[SBaugh]

http://www.solidworks.com/pages/ser...stmodels.html?C1=Parts&C2=Hardware&C3=Springs

I think this link has a large list of different types of springs. You have to log in with your SW Serial number to get access to them.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP
3DVision Technologies

http://www.3dvisiontech.com

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376
faq559-716 - SW Fora Users

 

[crjones]

To close the end of a spring I used three helixes. One is the main body and one at each end representing the closed coils. Lee Spring has a pretty good site that downloads a solid model too.

 

[SBaugh]

So are you making 3 different sweeps?

If so, then you should make them into one compostie curve and you would have a single sweep feature.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP
3DVision Technologies

http://www.3dvisiontech.com

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376
faq559-716 - SW Fora Users

 

[EngJW]

For the ground ends, you could extrude a cut across the spring. You might have to adjust the helix to make the free length come out to what you want.

John Woodward

 

[btrueblood]

The Lee spring solid models gave me trouble when I tried to use them in a model - the file is copy-protected or some such.

 

[aamoroso]

SBaugh (Mechanical) Nov 19, 2004
So are you making 3 different sweeps?

If so, then you should make them into one compostie curve and you would have a single sweep feature.


Thats exactly how I do mine. I use equations too so the three stay proportionied properly.

 

[cpretty]

Guys,

When making springs a couple of us here will create them using a excel worksheet to close the ends. The problem with the 3 helix idea is that the changeover creates a sharp edge. This sharp edge also creates confusion on drawings.

The helix is created in excel to output a set of x,y,z points, which are then imported into SW. The spring is partially parametric, in that you can respecify the file you want to use the points from.

With the new design binder you can also save the excel sheet with the model.

A little helper for this:
6 points per rotation minimum to get a smooth curve.
Create a extra point very close to the ends of the curves to get near continuous curvature. (haven't yet tested 2005 on this to see if it fixes it)

File size can be larger using this method, but if the spring is important, then it helps.

Craig

 

[crjones]

The three different helixes are used to create the end conditions of the spring which are different the body. But yes Scott I did eventually learn to combine them for one sweep.