Threading in 2022 - Helix tool or Thread Creator?

dylan_van_damme

Hi everyone,

Newbie here.  I have found some Youtube video tutorials (2021) on creating a thread with the Helix tool, and have tried this method with very little success - I find the extra steps necessary to sweep with a manually created triangle quite cumbersome and confusing.

Then I came across ThreadConnector in the custom features section, which I think will meet most of my needs (ANSI and ISO standard threads).

My question is, when creating the mated part (eg a nut for a bolt), is it generally best practice to use boolean feature in order to subtract one part (eg the nut) from the other part (eg. Bolt) or would you just redo the Helix / ThreadConnector feature in order to make the female thread?

I'm looking to 3D print my prototype and want to make sure these threaded parts will work properly. Thanks!

antlu65

Other users appear to have created one thread with the Thread Creator custom feature, then used Boolean Subtraction to produce the mating thread. There is an option to apply an offset/clearance for the latter step, which may be useful for getting the proper fit for 3d printed parts.

EDIT:
Here are some related discussions, in no particular order, that may be helpful or instructive.

Making Custom Threads — Onshape
Offset subtracted Threads — Onshape
Clearance for mating threads — Onshape
This boolean subtract with offset is not solving - help! — Onshape
thread — Onshape