Threads for 3d printing

99% finished:)

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I was wondering about how to taper off the end of the tread, and easiest thing I can think of is to use solid tools to subtract a cone shape off the end, but I’m not sure if that’s an accurate representation of a real screw.

You are close:) i used solid tools but the chamfer is a 45 degree angle. I made a circle same diameter as my OD, then i offset a circle about .25mm. Used yhe autofold tool to move the inner circle down .25mm, creating a “cone” shape. I then placed it and used solid tools. I can post a video later:)

What I’m thinking is not just tapering the base, inner cylinder, but the threads as well so that the end of the thread tapers inward until it disappears into the inner cylinder. You’d have to intersect the whole bunch with a cone shape, which is an operation you could do on a lathe.

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Brilliant work, people. I’ve spent days on threads. I substitute metres for millimetres to prevent SU deleting short lines and did loads of manual cleaning up hidden geometry lines. As for scaling say M8 to M6, I use XY and Z separately to good effect. Depending on the number of segments of your circle, you may need to make the diameter for internal threads a little larger than nominal. It’s magic when you screw in the bolt!

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i did this all in meters as well:) then i will scale down by 0.001

This took about 10 minutes total. I used the shapes extension from the SU extension wharehouse. once installed, click draw from menu, 3d shapes, helix. this will open up a menu that has all the options you need.

Once the helix is created, then follow the profile dimensions listed on the above website DaveR posted. You will create a trapazoidal type shape for the profile. Attach this to the helix at center point, then use the upright extrude. I then attached the threads to a rod, then chamfered BOTH the bolt and threads using solid tools.

once chamfered, i then extruded the top of the rod up as much as i needed, but i made it the same diameter as the OD of the threads. Unioned and then put a hex head ontop:)

I was impressed before you said it took ten minutes. :hugs:
My drawings scaled down OK, but after saving, they weren’t.

I couldn’t get it to behave so I converted everything else to 1000x.

I use Cura with Wanhao and Creality. Both treat metres as millimetres, so you don’t have to scale down for 3d Printing at present, anyway.

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Here. I just made this for you and others as well:) The credit goes to DaveR for telling me how to do this with the extensions:)

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I did not know cura and creality treated meters as mm. thats good to know. Since at the end of my parts, all were solid, They scale down pretty good:)

I hope the video helps. Its not EXACTLY to standards but pretty close.

As a Make user, I don’t get all the goodies.
You won a Like on Youtube. :grinning:

I thought shapes was for make as well. If not, curvemaker is.

You can still download 2017 make for the desktop so you can use extensions.

Im not sure if the web version jas shapes in it or not.

If you use the make version that is on the desktop, booltools2 is amazing.

With a recommendation like that, I felt bound to do the unthinkable and actually pay for something. :sweat_smile:
BoolTools2 downloaded, installed and I’ll give it a whirl later.

Awesome. Boolstools2 is amazing if you do not have pro. The next thi g to get is either “shapes” from ext wharehouse or curve maker, then upright extrusion. These tools will make threads easier

@lt72884 asked me how to manually draw a helix for threads with a specified pitch. Here’s an extension of the method commonly shown. In this case I’m showing the start for a machine screw M6x1.0

Start with a circle with a radius of 3. I set the number of sides to 50 to make the math easy. I exploded the circle and then extruded the face with Push/Pull to a height of .02 (1/50 of 1mm)

Rotate the top circle as shown in those other tutorials so you end up with the angled edges.

Continue with the rest of the process copying the edges upward making 49 additional copies. One helix will have a pitch of 1.

Erase the rest of the helices.

To keep the math easy, use the appropriate number of sides for the circle.

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Awesome. Thanks for this. Im going to look it over. On the web version, is it possible to get the follow me tool to behave like eneroths upright extursion?

I have not figured this part ouy yet?

By the way, did you attend basecamp?

No. At least not currently.

Yes. I presented and had a couple of workshops at the last one.

Hmm, so finishing the thread on the web version is going to be very difficult.

Thanks for showing me how you made the helix though. That was really helpful.

What did you present at basecamp?

To get accurate standard machine threads, yes, it would be a bit harder than on the desktop version. It could still be done, though. You wouldn’t need to go through the steps of making the helix, though.

I presented on using LayOut.

Here’s a way to make the threads in SketchUp Free or Shop.

Draw a sector of the thread with the required pitch.


Rotate/Copy and move the copy upward to align with the previous. Easiest to do all this if you make a component of the single sector.

Select the two copies, and Rotate/Copy them.

Repeat until you have a full turn.

Explode the sector components, delete the internal faces and soften. (or use the Solid Tools in SketchUp Shop to do all that.

Copy the single turn as many times as needed. Trim the ends as needed or add a head for a screw or whatever.

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So no helix on web version to make threads? Thats interesting. Ill have to toy around with it. I only know of the one way you showed me haha.

Your presentation on LO i bet was good. I remember when you gave it to me last year. It was really good.

I am going to watch the presentation on switching from autocad to su later today

Well, no need with this last method to draw a helical edge, anyway. You wind up with a number of helices when you are done, of course.

Thanks on the LO thing. there was some technical difficulty during my presentation so I suspect it won’t show up on You Tube like many of the others did.