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Creating a Wave Washer

Paul Blayle

New member
I am trying to find the best way to model a wave washer. Not the wave springs, but essentially a flat washer that has been bent in the middle. I was trying to make a flat washer and then bend it. I drew a line across the center and tried to do a bend at the line with no sucess. Help point me in the right direction.
 
If all you want is "cupped" or dome style washer that acts like a spring washer, just draw your profile in a sketch and revolve it around an axis. As far as what you are describing, you can use the sweep along a guide method. You could sweep a "quadrant" then mirror and unite it 2x.


OR if you just need a model:


http://www.mcmaster.com/#crinkle-washers/=g34wjx
 
That is close to what I am looking for, but instead of a domed (bellville) washer I want a bend along one line through the middle. Like you took a flat washer and bent it by hand over the corner of a work bench.
 
this is going to sound complicated but try it.


create a solid model of a hollow cylinder with a height greater than the curve.


perpendicular to this - create a profile sketch of the curve desired. Extrude this as a solid and intersect it with the hollow cylinder solid.


This should leave you with the curved washer solid.
 
That is how I did it with an intersecting extrude. I was hoping someone could enlighten me on how to bend it or possibly project it onto a surface. Note that these will produce slightly different results, most notably on the edges.
 
I did it.


I created a bend in a washer using NX Sheetmetal features. I created a sketch to start my base feature for sheetmetal. I made a 10mm circle in the sketch, then used that sketch to make my "tab" feature. Then I gave it a global value of 1.5mm thick. Next I placed a hole in the center of with "x" value. Now I have a "ring" or a washer as it appears. Now on the top surface, I made a second sketch and connected the top and bottom quadrants of the circle, ended the sketch. Then I went to the "bend" feature which allows you place a bend via the location of a single line in a sketch. I changed the inset of the feature dialog box to apply the bend to both sides of the sketch line.....now I have a bent washer of sorts with only five items in the design tree. I'm sure it can be modified with expressions to give a relationship between the washer size vs. the bend radius and angle.


Paul if you would like, send me a PM on here with your email address, I can email you file, so you can pick it apart and see what I did. I made it with NX6.


-Mat Rhode
 
You can do this quite easily using the bend option within the Warp tool.



Hope this helps,

Sam
 

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