Joining sweep path lines

peter_cuthbert

Hi Folks

I have discovered that one can import photos into OnShape and use them as a basis for tracing.  Excellent facility!  That has encouraged me to try to draw the top evaporator coil of the mono-tube boiler that I am building.  I have made a good start on that but have hit a snag for which there is probably a simple answer if you know how.  Of course as a Newbie, I don't.  The snag is that the tube begins as a flat coil essentially on one plane. It then dives by about 20mm (or less) to form a second coil underneath the first. (I was basically using up the extra pipe in the coil.)  I am having difficulty because I need to connect the end of the sweep path on the first plane to a short 'going down' path which will be on a plane at right agles to the first plane.  Having got the end of the pipe below the top coil I will need to connect the sweep path to the final coil which will be on a plane approximately 10-20mm below the first one.  My attempts to connect paths are dire.

Here is the file:

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/f1491b2b2fd033117262c961/w/d18d7271fc87be9de2e73d4c/e/46214cb473548898b42de6d0

A photo of the real coil is to be found on one of the Tabs.

Your suggestions would be welcome.

Regards

Pete

eric_pesty

Try using a "bridging curve" or 3D fit spline to create the transitions between the different "sections". this will make sure you create a continuous and tangent path and then you can do all of it with just one sweep.

matthew_stacy

@peter_cuthbert, on the one hand Onshape lacks "3D sketching" tools, in the traditional sense of that term, that would make your task child's play ( @eric_pesty directed you toward bridging curves which provide a powerful work around).  Fortunately Onshape has really powerful 2D sketching tools that offer an alternative approach.  By way of example I quickly sketched up (and swept) a 2 layer coil. There is a short vertical stub (sketch named "path1") coming into the first planar coil, another vertical run up to the second planar coil, and finally a vertical exit.

I strongly encourage you to peruse the Learning Center for tutorials on sketching with mate connectors (rather than sketching on planes).  In this case mate connectors make it super easy to connect "path2" to "path1", "path3" to "path2" ... and so on with whatever direction changes you might want.  Also note that I just sketched straight lines and then applied the fillet tool to round the corners.

I hope this helps.

peter_cuthbert

PS.  Many thanks for the drawing.  I did not spot the link until a second reading.  I will see if I can reverse engineer it.  I have tried the Briding Curve and that seems to mostly work, althoug sometimes it refuses my attempts to ADD, but will accept NEW.  Still searching how to sketche with mate connectors.

Regards

Pete