Spiral guard - Solidworks
Can anyone tell me how to create a spiral like the attached photo around a surface that starts nearly vertical and ends up horizontal while still maintaining a particular distance from center to center (approx. 1/2")? Any help would be appreciated.
Accepted answer
Looking for photos will only get you so far. If you want to make a model, you're going to get much further along by trying to make the model. Even making it the "wrong way" will be educational.
Image attached showing a helix. Then a spiral is added. Then helix and spiral are combined with a composite curve. A sweep finishes the model. Adding in a mounting legs is another sweep feature. Follow it with a mirror, or pattern to create multiple legs.
2 Other answers
Is that a spiral in the photo? Those look like concentric rings on the top. The side rings look horizontal, they'd be sloped if they wrapped in a spiral.
If you were trying to wrap a spiral around something, you'd use a Sweep, and have it follow a Helix. If your object tapers (like the image), make a Helix w/ taper to match.
Check out some "how to make a thread" tutorials to see the Helix and Sweep tools in action.
I don't have one modeled yet. I'm basically trying to see how to model the spiral portion in the shape shown. More or less, exactly like the picture except a spiral rather than concentric rings. Here is a picture of another one I found that's similar.
