How to model a Spiral in SOLIDWORKS?

SolidWorks Tutorials59 comments

In this SOLIDWORKS tutorial, I will show you how to model a spiral spring in SOLIDWORKS. Spring steel is a low alloy, medium carbon steel or high carbon steel with very high yield strength. This allows objects made of spring steel to return to their original shape despite significant bending or twisting. But how can you draw a shape like a spiral or spring in SOLIDWORKS? This is exactly what I want to show you today.

In this tutorial you will learn how to use the following features:

2D sketch
Create a 2D Circle
Create a Helix / Spiral
Create a Swept Boss/Base

Happy modeling!

Jan

P.S. I encourage you to share this tutorial with your network.

Click here to download this tutorial as a free eBook (PDF).

Open a new part with model units set to millimeters

Go to: File > New > Part

Create a 2D sketch
Select the Top Plane in the feature tree (menu at the left side) and create a sketch by clicking on the 2D Sketch icon

The display changes so the Top plane faces you.

SOLIDWORKS_Spring_Tutorial

Create a circle

Go to Tools > Sketch Entities > Circle or click on the Circle icon

Create a sketch that starts at the Origin

Change the diameter of the circle into Ø80 mm by clicking on the dimension button

Click Right Mouse Button > Select to finish the circle

Create a Helix / Spiral

Go to Insert > Curve > Helix/Spiral or click on the Helix/Spiral icon

Select the Constant Pitch option

Set the Pitch length to 20 mm

Set the number of Revolutions to 8

Set the Start anlge to 180 deg

Select the Clockwise option

Click OK

Create a 2D sketch

Select the Right Plane and create a sketch by clicking on the 2D Sketch icon

Create another circle

Go to Tools > Sketch Entities > Circle or click on the Circle icon

Create a circle somewhere on the Right Plane as shown in the picture

Connect the Circle sketch with the Spiral Sketch

Select the midpoint of the circle, hold down the Control key and select the Spiral sketch

Click at Pierce

The circle is now connected with the Spiral sketch

Change the diameter of the circle to Ø10 mm by clicking on the dimension button

Click Right Mouse Button > Select to finish the circle

Click at the Sketch button in the upper right corner to close the 2D Sketch

Create a Swept Boss/Base

Go to: Insert > Boss/Base > Sweep or click on the Sweep icon

Profile : Select the blue Sketch2

Path : Select the pink Helix/ Spiral1

Click OK

Congratulations, you just finished your own Spring!

Click here to download this tutorial as a free eBook (PDF).

I hope you liked this LearnSOLIDWORKS tutorial!

Do you want to help me spread this tutorial with your network?

You can do this by using the social media bar on this page. Every share is greatly appreciated. This allows me to reach more people and develop more valuable SOLIDWORKS tutorials for you.

Thanks a million!

Jan

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Leave Your Response

59 comments. Leave new

Thank you!

thanks for your parts

good to know will help in the injection mold design. Do you do mold design tutoring

Jan-Willem Zuyderduyn

Hi Bruce, no I don’t have any Mold design tutorials. I will let you know when I do have a tutorial about mold design.

Congratulation!

Good,but can you just show how to mate a spring inside a hole if you know the method.

Jan-Willem Zuyderduyn

Hi Prasanna, thanks for your message. If you want to mate a spring inside a hole I recommend you to mate the center planes of the spring instead of the spring itself. Just click at the Center Plane of the Spring, select the Coincident Mate and select the Center Plane of the hole. Let me know if you’ve any other questions.

excuse-me for my english. Very good and very clear your job in this web, but by the spiral, I have a doubt, I don’t found Pierce comand in my solidworks to finish my spiral. Can you help my please.

Thanks for all

Jan-Willem Zuyderduyn

Hi Julian, thanks for your message.

Select the midpoint of the small circle, hold down the Control key and select the big circle (not the midpoint of the big circle) and click Pierce as shown in my attached example: https://www.learnsolidworks.com/downloads/Pierce.png

very good. Thank You . Bravo

Verry nice step by step explanation and usefull tutorial. How can I get your other tutorials and ebooks on Solidworks?

Jan-Willem Zuyderduyn

Hi Bharat, thanks for your message. Click here for all my other free SolidWorks tutorials: https://learnsolidworks.com/solidworks_tutorials/

If you want to learn everything about SolidWorks I recommend you my Step-by-Step SolidWorks Chopper tutorial. At this moment I offer you a great temporary deal. You can get it here: https://learnsolidworks.com/chopper/

Regards Jan

Thank’s for all Jan, finally I can do it.

Hello
Thank you.
Very Good.

Thanks very much, I am having trouble making thread if you can show me please?

Heng

Jan-Willem Zuyderduyn

Hi Heng, I will publish a post about this issue soon. Regards Jan

Your Comments

superb and excellent.

rramoss16@hotmail.com

HI Is very good to kow you sendme information but the tutorial I can´t See, Idont know what Ineed do to for see this, if you can help me prlease.

Jan-Willem Zuyderduyn

Hi Ramos, I am not sure what you mean. Can’t you see the tutorial above the comments? Maybe you’ve to try to open the LearnSolidWorks website with another web browser like Internet Explorer or Google Chrome.

Very Usefull

Thanks for showing us the best way of using solidworks

This Excellent. Thank You . Bravo

How to flatten the 2 tips so that the spring placed vertically on a plane by touching all the points of the surface?

Jan-Willem Zuyderduyn

Hi Ravi,

Add a Boss/Base Revolve at the ends of the spring to make the last twist constant and use the Extruded Cut feature to flatten the surface.

Jan-Willem

Hi Jan-Willem,

Thanks for the tip.
Let me try this.

Ravi

good

Thanks a lot. This is very useful.

Your Comments
thanks for the tutorial.
I’m still learning solid works, and would like to issues pertinent to this, so I can specialize.
If you can, you can send me more about solid works

Valdemir

Jan-Willem Zuyderduyn

Hi Vlademir,

If you download the SolidWorks Panton Chair Tutorial you’ll automatically receive messages when I’ve new SolidWorks tutorials available. Click here to download the Panton Chair tutorial: https://learnsolidworks.com/solidworks_tutorials/how-to-model-a-panton-chair-in-solidworks

Your Comments
very good and useful, thanks

agung

Hi Jan-Willem,

i want to ask you how to measure the path length of spiral.

thanks

Jan-Willem Zuyderduyn

Hi Agung,

Go to: Tools > Measure > And click at the Spiral

Jan-Willem

Hi dear Jan
I’m very thankful of you to teach us how we can use solidworks much easier.
I wanna to model the complex shapes such as pump impellers, can you please help me?
Regards

Jan-Willem Zuyderduyn

Hi Lia, send a message to info@learnsolidworks.com and I will see what I can do for you.

You are doing a great job….

Jan-Willem Zuyderduyn

Thanks Hassan! You’re very welcome! Jan

Leonardo Jonghyun Choi

Thank you for your tutorial.
It’s very useful!!

thanks for the tutorial, what if the ends are not symmetrical?

Hi Jan William,
Thanks for this awesome site, you are teaching me alot.
I have done the spiral,
Now I need to make a flat plate spiral for use in a screw feeder. how do I get the plate inserted like the circle for the helical?

Rocky

Hi Jan,
Thanks for the amazing site. I have been trying to learn this thing andjust about gave up, I have done the spring, but I have a question. How do I finish the spring off with a flat suface on both ends with in the length specs.

On the propeller tutorial, on my splines add relations I do not get the Tangent icon. AmI doing something wrong?

Thanks.

hamid sadatjoo

thanks a lot very good

Peter

Hey Jan,
Mooie tutorial.
Het afvlakken van zo’n veer, heb je daar ook een tutorial voor.
groet Peter

Jan-Willem Zuyderduyn

Hoi Peter,

Bedankt voor je compliment. Ik heb geen tutorial voor het afvlakken van de veer maar ik raadt je aan om dit te doen m.b.v. een sweep aan het uiteinde van de veer. Deze kan je vervolgens d.m.v. een Cut Extrude afvlakken.

Succes!

Groeten Jan

mahboubeh

hi jan,
so be goooooooooooooooooooood,thank you

ulides sanches

I need help with solidwork simulation – Displacement plot

ashok ranade

Your Commentsexcellent explanation of spiral spring indeed. I need help. How to select two planes at a time in SolidWorks 20003 version.

karthi

thank u very much Mr.jan, very usefull

alex

hi master
can you help me how is made realistic cable in solid work step by step

This Excellent. Thanks for sharing…

Jan-Willem Zuyderduyn

You are very welcome Sapna! 🙂

RANDEEP SINGH

Thank alot but i need some help on inner and outer threads. Do u have some tutorials on that also?

Jan-Willem Zuyderduyn

Hi Randeep,

Thanks for your message. I recommend you to take a look to my sweep tutorial to see how to model a thread but you can also use cosmetic threads instead. Just select the circular edge where the thread begins and click on Insert > Annotations > Cosmetic Thread.

Hope this helps!

Jan

Vicente

Hi Jan, very nice and easy way to do an spring. Could you make an animation or motion study that simulate the spring movement as part of some assembly? Thank you very much for your tutorials. I learn many things and tricks with them.

Dianne Kelly

Hi Jan,
Do you have a 2016 tutorial on Spline and/or Trace?
Thanks,
Dianne

Jan-Willem Zuyderduyn

Hi, sure! You can search for “spline” in the search bar in the upper right corner. Hope this helps!
Jan

very good tutorial for making spiral spring model. Really helpful. Thank you

Jan-Willem Zuyderduyn

Thanks Tona, I appreciate it! 🙂

Your tutorial is easy to understand and helpful to me

Jan-Willem Zuyderduyn

Thanks Khang! 🙂

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