Flexible springs in drawings

I've found the problem. The spring on its own won't section. It's weird in that if the spring is shortened it'll work, over a certain length it won't. The length is driven parametrically and there is no difference in topology between the short and the long version.

There does however appear to be an unseen split in the variable section. In the longer version the highlighting only picks up some of the quilt. That's the best I can explain.

The spr> Hi,

• Don't know if the flexibility business works on both solid or surface, but you'd probably be better off making the thing a solid, if you can get away with it. It it won't solidify, the problem could be the geometry (especially since you mention a 'split'). Look for 'Info>Geom Checks'

• Check out the detailing options ('File>Properties>Drawing Options') remove_cosms_from_xsecs no & show_quilts_in_total_xsecs no. These can have something to do with the display of quilts in cross sections.

• VSS for a spring? Okay, maybe, but why not helical sweep. I know this shouldn't make a difference, but baby gets cornfoozed so easily, anyway (witness WF where it can't even tell that a cut is supposed to go into solid material and invariably tries to make it into thin air), why push it!!

I'm not sure if it's normal or not. Length should not be an issue, unless you're talking about a split, where the surface comes apart, more and more, over a continuous length. Again, make it solid. Also, surfaces get mighty cranky if self-intersected, i.e., your parameter value makes it less than "solid" height, so you have surfaces generating inside of each other.

David Janes