Hi, I have a relatively simple design task - modeling a cable that is wound on a drum. Purpose being to build a parametric model in which you can change drum diameter, length, cable diameter, and find out how much cable fits on it before it becomes too large, and also for visualizations. I am aware that these calculations can be done with simple formula and online tools, but it is an interesting challenge to do it in SW. Basically like this:
The way I did it here was to model the drum for reference, make a cable profile sketch (circle), and then start a helix from it that runs until the end of the drum. There, a manual sketch with an arc to continue that helix up to a second level, then another helix running back, another arc sketch, another helix, and so on. Finally, all helixes and arc sketches combined into Composite Curve, which can be measured for length, and then Sweep for visuals. Note that circle used for sweep must be just slightly smaller than the actual diameter in order to prevent self-intersecting body due to floating point errors.
Issue with this approach is that it's very tedious to do. Lots of sketches to set up. Also not very parametric. I would like to be able to control number of layers of cable on the drum with a single variable, but this won't work with current approach. Still, attaching the part.
Any ideas on how to solve this in a cleaner and more parametric way?
P.S. a secondary question, but is there any way to improve Sweep performance for a part like this? My SW really struggles as I climb over 30 meters of cable.
