Learn/Drafting/Solid Modeling Tools
Helix
At a glance
- Sweep a profile along a helical path
- Configure pitch, number of turns, and hand (CW or CCW)
- Great for springs, coils, augers, and worm gears
- Join, cut, or new body modes
Helix (H) sweeps a sketch profile along a helical path — springs, coils, augers, worm gears, and
custom thread forms the Thread tables don't cover. Pick the profile face,
then pick the axis: a sketch line or a cylindrical face on an existing body. The radius is derived
from the pick automatically — a cylindrical face uses its own radius, a line uses the distance from
the axis to the profile.
Pitch, turns, and height
The three inputs are linked as Height = Pitch × Turns, and editing any one recomputes its dependent partner — enter the pair you actually know and read off the third. Pitch and Height accept units and expressions; Turns is a bare count and doesn't have to be whole. A Reverse checkbox flips the winding direction for left-hand coils.
Geometry quality
The spine is an exact helix — the same builder behind modeled threads — so the resulting solid booleans quickly and cleanly instead of choking on an approximated spline curve. The cross-section is held in a fixed orientation relative to the axis as it climbs, giving the constant section you want for spring wire and auger flighting.
Cut, Join, or New Body
When the helix intersects an existing body, the Operation dropdown offers Cut, Join, or New Body. A helical Cut around a cylinder is how you model an oil groove or a coarse feed screw that no standard thread table lists.