Spring

[aledtaylor79401]

This was done using AutoCAD 2004

[Wanderer]

This was done using AutoCAD 2004Very neat looking. (i need to get out more, or pay more attention to work. I saw the thread title and was expecting flowers and singing birds :roll: )

[robert.1.hall72202]

Very nice! I look at some of the images posted and in my 2d world I just can't imagine how to create these 3d models. I tried drawing a computer mouse once and that was no easy task.

[Maverick91]

This was done using AutoCAD 2004
Very cool. Can you tell us briefly how it was done?

[aledtaylor79401]

Springs:

Use ‘3dspiral.lsp’ (attached). As the name suggests, it draws a 3D spiral.

Draw a spiral with 180 points per rotation. One segment is omitted so rotate 2 degrees as required.

Draw a circle with the centre at one end of the spiral and set it at an angle perpendicular to the slope angle (you can calculate this angle in advance).

Extrude the circle along the path. (Any profile will twist when extruded along the spiral but since a circle is used, this doesn’t matter.)

Produce another spiral with a shallow pitch for the ends. Extrude a circle along it as before.

Join the segments with spheres at the intersection points to fill the gaps.

Make rectangular blocks and subtract them from the ends to create flat surfaces.

Embossed text:

Draw text using a true-type font. Use Express tools to explode the text. Convert the exploded text to regions. Extrude to make solids. Reposition the text and subtract the solids from the spring.

Wood surface:

Place a wood sample onto a flatbed scanner and scan. Use the image to create a material for rendering.

[Kris.Keller]

Springs:

Use ‘3dspiral.lsp’ (attached). As the name suggests, it draws a 3D spiral.

Draw a spiral with 180 points per rotation. One segment is omitted so rotate 2 degrees as required.

Draw a circle with the centre at one end of the spiral and set it at an angle perpendicular to the slope angle (you can calculate this angle in advance).

Extrude the circle along the path. (Any profile will twist when extruded along the spiral but since a circle is used, this doesn’t matter.)

Produce another spiral with a shallow pitch for the ends. Extrude a circle along it as before.

Join the segments with spheres at the intersection points to fill the gaps.

Make rectangular blocks and subtract them from the ends to create flat surfaces.

Embossed text:

Draw text using a true-type font. Use Express tools to explode the text. Convert the exploded text to regions. Extrude to make solids. Reposition the text and subtract the solids from the spring.

Wood surface:

Place a wood sample onto a flatbed scanner and scan. Use the image to create a material for rendering.

Very nice, Thank you for sharing how you did this fine work.

[david.rees]

just a quicky if you dont want to use the lisp supplied.
draw a torus which intersects a block in the middle
subtract the block to get half a torus
mirror this back so it looks full
rotate on half round the intersection by how ever many degrees you wont the sping to stand though
copy the flat section up to the other end of the half torus which has been rotated and rotated by the same angle -.
copy this up to created the sping the union the whole lot.
do the same to get the flat ends and number stamp.
i'm not supposed to use external lisp routines in the office so i have to find ways round it.

i really like this and it looks way to easy till you try and make a spring very very nice.

[Kris.Keller]

aledtaylor,

Thank you again for sharing how you created your springs. Just today I had to create something very similar and it worked wonderful.

[tlewald]

nice job!

thanks for also sharing the .lsp & technique.

[aledtaylor79401]

just a quicky if you dont want to use the lisp supplied.
draw a torus which intersects a block in the middle
subtract the block to get half a torus
mirror this back so it looks full
rotate on half round the intersection by how ever many degrees you wont the sping to stand though
copy the flat section up to the other end of the half torus which has been rotated and rotated by the same angle -.
copy this up to created the sping the union the whole lot.
do the same to get the flat ends and number stamp.
i'm not supposed to use external lisp routines in the office so i have to find ways round it.

i really like this and it looks way to easy till you try and make a spring very very nice.

Thanks for the feedback.

Using a torus is a good idea but there are a couple of problems.

1: When you turn the spring through 90 degrees it looks very different.

2: When viewed from the end, it’s elliptical.

Alternatively, if you’re not allowed to use lisp routines, you could draw a 3D polyline and extrude along it. (Use the array command to create circles and lines to make a grid and set the osnap to ‘intersection’ before drawing the 3D polyline).

Aled Taylor
Design Engineer

(File size is someone else’s problem)

[checkpost100]

Thanks for the feedback.

Using a torus is a good idea but there are a couple of problems.

1: When you turn the spring through 90 degrees it looks very different.

2: When viewed from the end, it’s elliptical.

Alternatively, if you’re not allowed to use lisp routines, you could draw a 3D polyline and extrude along it. (Use the array command to create circles and lines to make a grid and set the osnap to ‘intersection’ before drawing the 3D polyline).

Aled Taylor
Design Engineer

(File size is someone else’s problem)


Another method of spiral creation.
First time a little bit complex, but later easy like copy-paste

:see picture 1

rectangle
> @50,50

arc
> start point >point1
> end point >point1
> angle >90

copy
>select rectangle and arc
>0,0,0
>0,0,10

:see picture 2

ucs
>3P
>point1
>point2
>point3

circle
>3P
>point1
>point2
>point3

:see picture 3
ucs
>E
>select cirlce

Line
>qua
>qua

Line
>qua
>qua

:see picture 4
ucs
>Y
>90

circle (with radius of wire)

:see picture 5
extrude by path

ucs
>w

plan
>w

:see picture 6
create solid for substruction using rectangle

:see picture 7
substruct

:see picture 8
Next use copy and rotate create spiral

[Maverick91]

I do like the explainations we're getting here. It helps others see ways of doing things.

[checkpost100]

I do like the explainations we're getting here. It helps others see ways of doing things.

Thanks,
Glad you like it.


Regards,

Vlad

[AcadDurango]

hi:


excelent render and excelente tips, thanks for sharing, it is very helpful

[aledtaylor79401]

Vlad, I had some difficulty following your instructions.

The circle wouldn't extrude along the circular path. I think the angle was wrong. I overcame this by drawing a torus, centred on the centre of the circular path.

I can’t make the segments join up. There seems to be a difference in the angle of the elliptical face at each end or the quarter.

The end view, although very close to circular, is not exactly round. I think an elliptical extrusion path would solve this as it could be made to appear exactly round when viewed from the top.

I expect these problems would not be noticeable with a shallow slope angle.

On the whole, a well thought out process. I particularly liked changing the UCS to draw the circular path.

Aled Taylor
Design Engineer

[checkpost100]

Vlad, I had some difficulty following your instructions.

The circle wouldn't extrude along the circular path. I think the angle was wrong. I overcame this by drawing a torus, centred on the centre of the circular path.

I can’t make the segments join up. There seems to be a difference in the angle of the elliptical face at each end or the quarter.

The end view, although very close to circular, is not exactly round. I think an elliptical extrusion path would solve this as it could be made to appear exactly round when viewed from the top.

I expect these problems would not be noticeable with a shallow slope angle.

On the whole, a well thought out process. I particularly liked changing the UCS to draw the circular path.

Aled Taylor
Design Engineer
I think you missed somewhere right UCS.

I like you idea to create torus, it makes process much simple
Right away after a creation of the path circle, to create torus using a path circle.
Final result makes no difference.

Would mind resave your dwg for release 2002?

Thanks,

Vlad

[aledtaylor79401]

The drawing 'Spring-2.dwg' is now in '2000' format.

Aled Taylor
Design Engineer

[macwizzy06]

Springs:

Use ‘3dspiral.lsp’ (attached). As the name suggests, it draws a 3D spiral.

Draw a spiral with 180 points per rotation. One segment is omitted so rotate 2 degrees as required.

Draw a circle with the centre at one end of the spiral and set it at an angle perpendicular to the slope angle (you can calculate this angle in advance).

Extrude the circle along the path. (Any profile will twist when extruded along the spiral but since a circle is used, this doesn’t matter.)

Produce another spiral with a shallow pitch for the ends. Extrude a circle along it as before.

Join the segments with spheres at the intersection points to fill the gaps.

Make rectangular blocks and subtract them from the ends to create flat surfaces.

Embossed text:

Draw text using a true-type font. Use Express tools to explode the text. Convert the exploded text to regions. Extrude to make solids. Reposition the text and subtract the solids from the spring.

Wood surface:

Place a wood sample onto a flatbed scanner and scan. Use the image to create a material for rendering.

Nice! Hope to be able to do this someday (whenever i upgrade from AutoCAD 2004 2D to AutoCAD 2004 3D )

[jaberwok]

Nice! Hope to be able to do this someday (whenever i upgrade from AutoCAD 2004 2D to AutoCAD 2004 3D )

Do you mean you are using LT?

[aledtaylor79401]

An alternative method to draw a spring. This method produces a spring shape that is perfectly circular when viewed from the top and where the segments join up exactly.


Draw an ellipse so that it would appear to be a circle when viewed at the required slope angle.

Trim it in half and extrude a circle along it.

Rotate the elliptical line to the required slope angle and trim to 45 degrees. (The trim lines do not have to pass though the elliptical line in 3D).

Rotate the elliptical arc back to flat.

Offset to each side and create a block with surfaces perpendicular to the ends of the arc

Subtract the block from the extrusion.

Rotate the extrusion. Polar Array.

Rotate the arc. Polar Array.

Copy the arcs to the extrusion and move each segment using the end points of the arcs to snap to.

Aled Taylor
Design Engineer

[checkpost100]

Vlad, I had some difficulty following your instructions.

The circle wouldn't extrude along the circular path. I think the angle was wrong. I overcame this by drawing a torus, centred on the centre of the circular path.

I can’t make the segments join up. There seems to be a difference in the angle of the elliptical face at each end or the quarter.

The end view, although very close to circular, is not exactly round. I think an elliptical extrusion path would solve this as it could be made to appear exactly round when viewed from the top.

I expect these problems would not be noticeable with a shallow slope angle.

On the whole, a well thought out process. I particularly liked changing the UCS to draw the circular path.

Aled Taylor
Design Engineer

Sorry, didn't see your question.
I absolutely forgot to tell about one very important limitation.
High of one rotation (360) should be less or close to radius.
H<=R
On your dwg H= 4* R.
All spirals, what I did last years, didn’t cross this condition.
I think: this is a common case.
Sorry one more time.

Regards.

Vlad

[Deogan]

Very Nice Job!.
I Realy Like This.

I'm very new member of Augi.
Will You Please Tell me How Can I Post my Drawings to Autocad Gallary?

[Mike.Perry]

I'm very new member of Augi.
Will You Please Tell me How Can I Post my Drawings to Autocad Gallary?Hi

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