Thanks for the tip John. I have taken a look at the 3D Curve feature and have
figured out a way of making the 24" rad. coiled hose that I proposed as an
example previously.
It is a three step process to achieve the final product. As John had mentioned earlier, the difficult part is making a 3D Guide Curve to be used for sweeping the 3/4" dia. circle along, using the Sweep Shape tool.
Ok, here goes!! The first step is using the Sweep Shape tool and constructing a 2D Guide Curve by specifing Circular Arc and defining 180 deg. arcs from 24" rad. to 12" rad., all with the same center point (I deleted the default arc, and used the origin of the drawing area for the arcs). I then joined the ends and the start points of these arcs with a second set of arcs. This produced the coil from 24" to 12". Next, I swept a square shape around this coil, after using the Triball to position the square so that the outside of the finished solid would be the 24" rad.
Step Two: Producing a 3D Guide Curve using the 3D Curve Shape tool, from the solid produced in step 1. Select Insert Arc in the 3D Curve Tool, and in the same manner above, construct 180 deg. arcs starting at the outside of the solid,while initially holding the shift key (the curves will be produced perpendicular to the surface without the shift key).
This 3D Curve can be queried for it's length.
Step Three: Using the Sweep Shape tool once again, pick the newly created 3D Curve as the 3D Guide Curve and sweep a 3/4" dia. circle. Use the Triball to position the circle so that the outside is tangent to the 3D curve. Andddd....like magic, it is done!!!
I hope you are able to follow my explanation. I have also attached an .ics file with the three elements decribed above.
After practicing a few times to become familiar with the tools, I was able to make this part in about 20 mins. Not bad for an amateur! Right??
Paul, how is the excel project coming? I am curious to see how it will work.
24 inch coil.ics