Software for Drawing Custom Springs

[MrOliveDrab]

Say I want a rectangular shape instead of the typical cylindrical, what software do you recommend for automating the CAD file generation? Does the Advanced Spring Design software from SMI/UTS fit the bill? Will I need to design it in one software program and draw it in another?

 

[MikeHalloran]

The UTS website gives no hint that the software can either calculate or draw noncylindrical springs like magazine springs, so ask the supplier before buying.

The 'CAD' file that it does export is in the DXF format, which is used more for 2D information than it is for 3D information, so I suspect that what gets exported is a DXF 2D drawing file, not a 3D solid model. So what you'll get, and again I'm guessing, is a nice drawing suitable for purchasing, but not all that useful for import into whatever CAD system you're using. Again, ask the supplier.

That may not be a bad thing. In days of yore, drafters got yelled at for drawing all the coils of a spring instead of using a simplified representation. Nowadays, an exact and complete 3D model is possible, but it typically slows down the rendering engine so much that grossly simplified models are preferred.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[drawoh]

MrOliveDrab,

Any software that lets you execute code in the drawing environment should be able to design and model a spring from some set of initial parameters. To implement this, you need to know the programming language, be it AutoLISP, Visual Basic, or C++. You need to know how to design springs, manually.

I could definitely do this in AutoCAD. For SolidWorks, I would have to learn Visual Basic, and I hate Visual Basic. SolidWorks' equation editor probably would do the job. My primary problem with the other CAD packages would be my lack of knowledge of them.

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JHG