Re: Ok here is a chellenge for the masters of SW

I gave it a whirl...

PS: The curved helix 3DSketch was made with a macro from the SolidWorks API library.

WHOOOOO!!!!!!!

Damn is that good! You rock! Thanks. I have to pick it apart and see if I understand. What API library macro are you reffering to?

Some here tell me I am a master of SW but when people like you are around I am lucky to be concidered a beginner...

Ben

Cool! You just couldn't let that gauntlet lie on the ground, could you?? :-)

WT

Mike,

Ok, thank you, bummer that my company has let subscription sevices drop as a cost saving measure thsi year... Just forgot to tell me (the cheif of design). No point in consulting me on other possible cost saving measures.

Maybe I can show them that they are costing more now that they have to pay a renewal fee and then subscription services, so that I can design what they want.

I really have to find a new job.

Any suggestion on how to make this sketch without the macro?

Ben

That's OK, I emailed the file. I took out the "SpamBalls" part. If you want, reply to this email and I can send it.

Mike Wilson

Mike:

The helix coil was pretty cool. I wasn't that familiar with sheet metal lofts, so your model really expanded my horizons.

I'm ignorant of VBA, so I created an Excel spreadsheet that generates points in Cartesian coordinates that will trace out the coiled helix sweep path. Then I cut the x, y, z data, pasted the values into another spreadsheet, and saved the data as a tab-delimited text file. I created the 3D curve by using Curve Through Free Points with the text file. The curve isn't perfect: the end conditions are a little off. But it worked reasonably well.

The following link has the spreadsheet, text file, and model.

Mike,

Great 'lateral' ? thinking I always enjoy reading your posts because I know I'm just gonna learn = something !! Thanks

Like Tony, the Lofted bends thing was something I never knew was there, = so I sat down and learnt alot that night, but it lead me to another

A while back i had to design some large bore, thin walled ducting and = got to thinking that this would have been the way to do some of the 90 = deg bends.

I tried by shortening up the 3d helix path sketch to a little over = quarter turn around the axis, this leaves ugly extra bits on each end = from the lofted bends. When I tried to cut off excess with 2 separate = line sketches at 90 deg and unfold the shape the operation failed. It lost it's fixed face and of course there was no straight edge or face = I could pick to redefine it. Is there another trick that can be pulled from the bag to do this !!

--=20 Neville Williams Cad Design & 3D Visualisation ZAxiS (remove the "knot" to reply)

No problemo!

Hmmm, I'm having trouble trying to understand what you are trying to accomplish. Did you try unfolding first before cutting, then refolding?

Here is an example...

Regards, Mike Wilson

Mike!!!!

I just wanted to say thanks for this AWESOME model and technique.

I can now see the value of lofted bends and surfaces.

A real eye opener

;-)

TOTALLY NICE!

Regards,

SMA

Also opened my eyes to new possibilities. I don't think we can make any of them in house but I can atleast get flat patterns if we decide to use them. This gives the ablility to make an auger out of sheetmetal. I could only get it to flatten one rotation but more than I could do before. It is just figuring out how to get it formed.

Thanks, Corey

Corey,

Yeah - In hearing this it reminds me of something I saw in Pro-e in

I also wonder what one could do to tool these things as they are not really good for a traditional single direction punching op. Generally I have not seen many uses of twisted metal that went beyond 90 degrees (I'm sure they are out there, just not too obvious to me). Usually this sort if thing appears in some artist's creation, which of course has a no "real" precison to it.

The basic problem that I find wiht lofted bends is that they must be the first feature. It would be awesome if they would actually be a standard sheet metal feature that was nsertable after other sheet metal had been defined.

I think someone in hvac had some hand in the lofted bends thing. Unfortunately it seems that even if one keeps a constant bend radius using lofts, there are no bending centerlines that propogate into the flat.

My point -> I don't know . . .

Later,

SMA

Hi Neville, I got your bitmaps. I see the problem now! Yes, I've been trying to find a workaround for that problem for quite some time. It crops up now and again.

Here is the best I can come up with...

Hopefully that will work.

Mike Wilson

Thanks for the effort Mike. Like I say I'm not losing sleep over it but that lofted bends thing will = be real handy in future.