Helix: HELIX

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Toolbar: Draw > Helix

Ribbon: Draw > Helix; Draw 3D > Helix (in Curves)

Menu: Draw > Helix

Keyboard: _HELIX

Alias: COIL, SPIRAL, SPRING

Draws a 3D spiral that is open at both ends. The base and top can be equal values, similar to a coil or spring, or they can be different values, similar to a cone.

To draw a helix

Specify center point of base: Specify the center point of the helix.

Specify base radius or [Diameter]: Specify the radius (or diameter) of the bottom of the helix.

Specify top radius or [Diameter]: Specify the radius (or diameter) of the top of the helix. Note that base radius and top radius cannot be equal to zero simultaneously.

Specify helix height or [Axis endpoint/Turns/turn Height/tWist] <>: Specify the height of the helix. If the height is zero, the helix will be a two-dimensional spiral, but if the start and end radius are the same, it will look like a circle.

To specify the axis direction instead of helix height

Choose Axis endpoint.

Specify axis end point: Specify the endpoint of the helix, which determines the position and direction of the helix.

To specify the number of turns

Choose Turns.

Enter number of turns: Specify the number of full turns. The default number of turns is three. The maximum is 500.

To specify the turn height instead of the number of turns

Choose turn Height.

Specify distance between turns: Specify the height of one full turn, which updates the number of turns automatically. This option is available only if you have not specified a number of turns.

To specify the direction of turns

Choose tWist.

Enter twist direction of helix [CW/CCW]: Specify the direction of helix turns, which can be clockwise (CW) or counterclockwise (CCW).

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