Extruding an spiral, rolled sheet.

[skanskan]

Hi.

I would like to create a shape (solid or surface, I don't mind) like a rolled sheet.

 

[skanskan]

I've tried by extruding an spiral, but the extrusion command doesn't accept it as input.

 

[skanskan]

I've also tried creating an helix with z = constant , but the extrusion doesn't work either.

I've also tried in both cases to project the helix to a sketch, but the extrude command doesn't accept that sketch either.

I'm sorry for posting several times, eng-tips doesn't allow me to upload several times at once.

 

[jerry1423]

You should be able to use Extrude to make what you want.
If the spiral curve is a single curve then extrude it for the distance (width of the material) that you want, then utilize offset in the extrude menu to get the thickness of the material that you need.

 

[skanskan]

I could do it copying the curve and using a rulled surface but I'm wondering why the extrusion doesn't work and if there is a better way.

 

[jerry1423]

It should work with an extrusion. I think you may need to specify the direction. Maybe sure you expand that part of the menu.

 

[JohnRBaker]

I had NO problems whatsoever extruding the spiral and then using 'Thicken' to convert it into a solid body, per the attached model.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[skanskan]

OK, thanks, I don't know what I was doing wrong.

Now, if I want to wrap a curve around it I can't with the wrap command. It needs a cone or cylinder.
How would you do it?

 

[skanskan]

Nor can I blend the curved edge, even with a small radius.

 

[JohnRBaker]

It is true that there are problems adding a blend to the spiral edges. I'll try to see if I can get someone to look at that issue next week.

As for wrapping curves around a spiral surface, you can actually do that in NX 9.0 (see image below) if instead of creating the surface using Extrude, you make a copy of the spiral curve and create instead a Ruled surface using the new (for NX 9.0) 'Developable' Alignment option. Because we also enhanced the Wrap/Unwrap Curve function in NX 9.0 to work with 'Developable' surface as well as Cylinders and Cones (by definition, Cylinders and Cones are already 'Developable', meaning that they can be 'mathematically flattened' without distortion).

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[JohnRBaker]

I got to thinking about this and it turns out that in NX 9.0 I could have created the Wrap curve even if the model (as shown in my last post) was only an Extruded body, since, by definition, all TAB-CYLS ('Tabulated Cylinder', the geometric name for any surface created by extruding a planar curve along an axis normal to the plane of the curve) are 'developable'.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.