prevent a pattern from rotating around the path line as it's sweeping a path

david_lang457

extending on from https://forum.onshape.com/discussion/16907/trying-to-model-the-ball-path-for-a-ball-screw#latest

This works, but when I'm looking at 3d printing the part, I don't want to sweep with a circle, I want to sweep with a circle that has a 'hat' on it that limits the overhang angle at a given angle (I tend to use 60 degrees, others will be more conservative)

but when I do this with complex paths, the sweep shape gets rotated so that the 'hat' is not always at the top at the other end of the sweep.

'keep orientation' freezes the sweep shape in all three dimensions, I want the plane of the shape to be normal to the path that it's sweeping, but not rotate around that normal line

MichaelPascoe

Hey @david_lang457

For this, you will need a custom feature:
Sweep normal by @mahir will do this. 

david_lang457

nope, that also twists so that it's not the same at both ends

Evan_Reese

Here's an example of how to set up to use Sweep Normal using a Ruled Surface. https://cad.onshape.com/documents/c7ffde5a042c6a5f3a27fa12/w/e7790b3ae8ccfda543e29cba/e/bac4abeb7a517f1da7728f72