topic Re: Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python in Fusion Design, Validate & Document Forum

Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python

dinocoglitore — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 17:40:08 GMT

To helix or not to helix, that is the Fusion question. Find out if the new experimental way Community member Dino Cogliltore @dinocoglitore creates a 3D Helix is the way for you..

Re: Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python

passariello — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 07:21:57 GMT

O_o

Really impressive.....

I hope to have your script directly in Fusion 360 in near future! ... we need this great stuff!

Best best!

PS: Dino, you are a great teacher a valid mentor!!!!!!!

Re: Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 08:41:55 GMT

Dino, my dear, I think you are a great teacher! The concept is simply brilliant.

Keep going!!!

Re: Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python

audaysami — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 08:58:23 GMT

Great effort to cover the gap in the Helix command

Re: Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python

dinocoglitore — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 19:14:48 GMT

I thank you a lot. I wrote these articles just only to learn Python and the Fusion API. I am very happy that my work can be useful to someone. It is very strange that Fusion team did not resolve the gap that you talk about.

Thanks

Dino

Re: Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python

pauliust — Wed, 18 Jul 2018 14:36:09 GMT

Hello,

I am trying to create a helix curve around a 3D spline. Somehow I am getting an error related to finding of the reference plane. Can you help me with this? Can you help me?

Re: Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python

dinocoglitore — Sat, 21 Jul 2018 03:26:25 GMT

Hi remigijus2L9H6, I'm sorry for the delay. Can you tell me in more detail in which case the error happen ? Can you post a picture of the spline or can you screencast all the sequence that leads to the error ?

Thanks

Dino

Re: Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python

aelkommos46 — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 03:11:49 GMT

I would love to use your add-in if possible, however when i went to download it off of box, it was removed. any way you could upload it with a link?

Re: Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python

dinocoglitore — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 05:26:38 GMT

Hi aelkommos46, I don't know why Autodesk decided to remove the file from the link. I will try to send the script through a personal message.

Thanks

Dino

Re: Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python

jodom4 — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 18:23:49 GMT

Hey dinocoglitore,

Thanks again for this awesome post! We've discontinued use of Box as our cloud storage tool. You're welcome to send me a zipped folder and I can host them for you and give you a link for everyone's convenience.

Re: Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python

dinocoglitore — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 10:02:50 GMT

Hi jodom4, thank you very much for your message and for your availability. I am attaching the file rar containing the script for the generation of the Helix. Maybe someone finds it useful.

Many thanks

Re: Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python

erniepeters1 — Tue, 31 Dec 2019 11:32:19 GMT

Some years have past since your post but I feel like I needed to add my input to your fantastic approach. I have recently been tasked with creating a variable helix that has an x amount of turns in a constant pitch that blends into a increasing variable pitch in x amount of turns along a given distance. I have worked out a solution I think in my head but was having some trouble putting it into practice. Like you, I opted to script the solution in python. I wouldn't consider the start and end sections of your helix (where it is a straight line) a mistake rather than 'room for improvement'. I too came across this behavior and one approach I thought of was to extend the start and end points by a bit and 'trim' the coil after it has been generated. The problem is that, you are using nurbs/splines and they rely heavily on control points. Since the start and end points terminate on a single point, there isn't a control 'line' that forces it to become tangent to anything since that reference is missing.

Re: Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python

HughesTooling — Tue, 31 Dec 2019 14:05:08 GMT

Another option without a script is use sweep in the surface tab with a twist angle. It is mentioned later in the linked thread in the first post. After creating the surface just use its edge as a path for a pipe or sweep.

Re: Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python

laughingcreek — Tue, 31 Dec 2019 18:15:56 GMT

That probably won't work for him since he's trying to vary the number of turns on a gradient as he approaches one end.

Re: Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python

HughesTooling — Tue, 31 Dec 2019 19:24:24 GMT

@laughingcreek wrote:

That probably won't work for him since he's trying to vary the number of turns on a gradient as he approaches one end.

Yes I know was being lazy. Just wanted to add the example to the thread for anyone else searching for help.

Mark

Re: Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python

dinocoglitore — Fri, 03 Jan 2020 19:08:53 GMT

Hi erniepeters1, sorry for the delay with which I reply. Thank you very much for your message, for the compliments and for your contribution. I am well aware of the errors you are talking about when building Helix and I mentioned it in the article itself. Your solution to lengthen the propeller a few points seems to me correct and it is what I had thought of (but not made).

A couple of extra construction planes could be added beyond the start and end of the axis and cut the spline appropriately (as you suggest yourself).

As for the other part of the message, if I understand your problem well (my English leaves something to be desired) you would like to create a helix that has a variable pitch.

From a qualitative point of view, I faced the problem some time ago, but I was unable to publish an article on it. Here are some examples of the work done but not yet completed:

I should review the code already written to give you more explanations.

I hope it is useful for the continuation of your work.

Thank you

Dino

Re: Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python

dinocoglitore — Sat, 04 Jan 2020 08:15:00 GMT

Here are the examples I forgotten:

You can find other examples in my Fusion gallery.

Thanks

Re: Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python

dinocoglitore — Sat, 04 Jan 2020 11:49:38 GMT

Hi @HughesTooling, thank you for the suggestion you gave to @erniepeters1.

Your solution is extremely fast, powerful and requires no programming effort. I would like to ask you if you have any memory of when it was introduced by the Fusion team in the surface tab.

I'd like to understand if the helix being constructed can have a variable shape or is always kept equidistant from the path defined by the spline.

I ask you if with the method you suggest you can also create something like this:

In this way I would avoid using the scripts that I developed and I would only use the Fusion interface.

Thank you

Dino

Re: Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python

HughesTooling — Sat, 04 Jan 2020 12:35:45 GMT

@dinocoglitore Not sure when t was introduced, by the way it is also available in the solid sweep as well.

You can use revolve, extrude, sweep etc. set to intersect to create something similar to your examples.

File's attached. Not there is a bug at the moment that means the profile and path curves need to be on different planes. So profile on XY and path on XZ.

Mark

Re: Creating a Helix around a 3D Curve with Fusion 360 & Python

dinocoglitore — Sat, 04 Jan 2020 14:26:40 GMT

Hi, thank you very much for your reply. I see that there is the possibility of solving the problems, that I have asked myself, also through the UI. I tried to solve them using Python and it was useful for understanding the API.

Many thanks.

Dino