Spring construction

[mrehmus]

If I set up to make a spring and ask for a definite length, I get the lenth plus the diameter of the 'wire' I use for the spring. I really don't know how springs are dimensioned in the real world but I'd think length is length. Furthermore, if one then asks for the ends to be flattened on a spring that is supposed to have a fixed number of turns, AD increases the number of turns.

Is this normal?

 

[TJI]

Hi mrehmus, I assume your talking about a compression spring. The height you input is not the length of the spring. It is the height of the extrusion, meaning the distance between the circle center start point and end point. The overall length would be the height plus the wire diameter if the profile orientation is set to parallel. If it is set to normal ( oriented to the helix angle, always extruding the wire "round" ) the overall length would depend on the springs pitch. If you set orientation to parallel on a 1 inch circle and you want the springs overall length to be 10 inches the input height would be 9 inches. The flattened end coils of the spring are separate from the "working" coils. The working coils will retain the input height, pitch, and revolutions and the overall length will remain the same.

As an aside, what programs do you use as an editor to get pictures, drawings, text, etc. ready for printing?
Is the 2D publish to pdf in design professional necessary to make drawings ready for publishing?