OpenSCAD library - Springs, helicoils, elliptic rings

thingiverse

LATE BREAKING: I unveil a library, OpenSCAD, featuring speedy code for direct coil and spring construction via polyhedron. OpenSCAD boasts some impressive xxx_extrude() functionality that achieves amazing things with minimal effort. Unfortunately, when dealing with complex coils, this may not be enough, as linear_extrude() tends to distort shapes due to the twist parameter. In such cases, compensation is not feasible, making it necessary to adopt a more sophisticated approach. For non-circular trajectories like ellipses, springs, and hearts in 3D space, the hull() operator proves useful. However, this comes at a cost: it slows down rendering, often taking hours to process complex shapes, as I discovered while creating my sampler. To illustrate the underlying mathematics, I've packaged a library containing four parametrized modules: elliptic_ring(r1 = 10, r2 = 5, r = 2, slices = 100, h = 0, w = 360) helicoil(Windings = 5, R = 20, r = 1, slices = 50, clockwise = true, square = true) spring(Windings = 5, R = 20, r=2, h = 20, slices = 50) elliptic_spring(Windings = 5, R1 = 20, R2 = 0, r=1, h = 20, slices = 50) At first glance, the code appears neat but also somewhat unusual due to its reliance on my ShortCuts.scad library. I've previously presented this in another project: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:644830. Although it adds complexity, I've found it speeds up my programming significantly. In summary, your chart will include two libraries: one referencing the other. The usage examples are shown in the screenshots. To utilize the library, simply copy Springs.scad and ShortCut.scad into your OpenSCAD library folder or current project directory and reference them with include "Springs.scad"; ShortCut.scad can also be used as a standalone library, referenced with include "ShortCut.scad"; I've also included help() functionality in each of my libraries. For further instructions on ShortCut.scad, please visit http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:644830