How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
(OP)
Hi there all,
I am trying to get a spring to follow a curve in UG NX4 but the helix function only allows me to create a straight spring.
Can anyone please advice how to get this helix to follow a curve?
Cheers in advance
Chris.
I am trying to get a spring to follow a curve in UG NX4 but the helix function only allows me to create a straight spring.
Can anyone please advice how to get this helix to follow a curve?
Cheers in advance
Chris.





RE: How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=258752
RE: How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
RE: How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
This is good start but how do I get it to follow a spline?
RE: How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
First create the spline you want to follow. Then create a line segment at one end of the spline, perpendicular to the spline and with the length equal to the helix radius. Then create a swept feature using the line as the section and the spline as the guide and choose "Angular Law" as the orientation method. Law type should be linear, starting at zero and ending with a value of the number of coils*360.
See attached picture.
RE: How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
RE: How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
Best regards
Simon NX4.0.4.2 MP10 - TCEng 9.1.3.6.c - (NX6.0.3.6 MP2 native)
www.jcb.com
Life shouldn't be measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the number of times when it's taken away...
RE: How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
I remembered this from an earlier thread, searched but couldn't find the thread. Would have saved me a bit of typing and creating a new model.
RE: How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
Best regards
Simon NX4.0.4.2 MP10 - TCEng 9.1.3.6.c - (NX6.0.3.6 MP2 native)
www.jcb.com
Life shouldn't be measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the number of times when it's taken away...
RE: How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
I am trying to create a helix so that the circular ends are flat to parallel surfaces, does anyone know how to do this?
Cheers for any help
RE: How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
Unless I have misunderstood the question, you would set up the WCS so that the X direction is parallel to your surface and then make the number of turns a multiple of 0.5. Or you could create an arbitrary helix and trim the ends appropriately.
RE: How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
http://www.siemens.com/plm
http://www.plmworld.org/museum/
To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
RE: How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
The helix I have created looks like that on the left but I am wanting the ends to end up with the circular cross section flat to parallel surfaces as shown by the sketch on the right.
RE: How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
See attached part; if you increase the tube diameter much it will fail unless you move the straight lines around and/or fiddle with the bridge curve parameters.
(the attached file is NX6)
RE: How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
RE: How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
"You mean as in a compression spring with what is called a 'Closed' end (or perhaps even a 'Closed and Ground' end)?"
YESSSSSS, exactly what i would need.....I need to design the spring exactly as reality, because of overall dimension issues.
Springs with "close and ground" ends are very common, but designing ends with NX4 is driving me crazy....
Did anybody already solve this issue?
Thanks everybody in advance for any help...
Bye
Umberto
RE: How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
RE: How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
Anyhow, cheers for any help!
Umberto Orsini
Tenneco-Marzocchi
RE: How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
So i ended up with entering like 150 turns on this path but the programm refused to carry it out, error message was something like "wrong definition"
So i examined the problem by using linear rule for angle orientation end entered end value of 50000 degree which resulted again in the above mentionend error i went to to around 35000 degrees at wich it was able to create the extrusion.
So my question now is, why has this "Limitation" been set and how can modify it, can it be modified at all??
NX6
RE: How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
RE: How to make a helix follow a curve in UG NX4!
John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
http://www.siemens.com/plm
http://www.plmworld.org/museum/
To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.