Feature Request: Helix tool

[Lunarien]

I searched around but couldn't find anything about a helix tool on the website nor in the documentation.
Please add a helix tool(set) or at least put it into planned features.

[mmiscool]

Threads are on the list so a helix is going to be needed for that.

[mmiscool]

First cut at at helix functionality has been added. Please go ahead and test.

[Lunarien]

I can see two issues.
when i happen to set Length Mode to "height" and then set Pitch to 0, the website runs out of memory and my browser displays an "oops" message.

Also, when i have Length Mode set to "turns" or "height", some parameters can be changed, but it doesnt do anything. in other words, the params are useless at those times.
here, have a visual:

[Lunarien]

It would probably be nice to only display the parameters that can be used.

[Lunarien]

Oh and while im at it, i noticed that when i change Length Mode, the dimensions dont stay the same. Would be nice for the shape to be retained after changing Length Mode.

[mmiscool]

Give it a shot now. Let me know what you think.

I also started working on making threaded holes.

[mmiscool]

@Lunarien
Could you confirm that things are functioning nice now?

[Lunarien]

Sorry for the delay. I found a point of annoyance in this version still:
When i change Length Mode to "height" from "turns" (or vice versa), this dropdown element moves down or up. I think it should preferably stay in the same place when i switch its state.

[Lunarien]

Oh and i also noticed that, when i use the up/down arrows in the pitch or height textbox, it adds an artificial 0.001 units to the value:

I'm guessing this is a result of your attempt to avoid crashes when i set the pitch to 0. Wouldn't it be better to warn the user that it cannot be 0 instead of adjusting the value?
I'd say the better solution is:

1. warn the user about 0 being an impossible value here
2. don't change the model, just wait until the user enters something other than 0 in that field.

[Lunarien]

Oh my god, hold on, I'm noticing a pretty major issue here again... When I have Length Mode set to "turns", it uses the (fixed) height defined by the "Height" textbox, which is actually invisible when i have Length Mode set to "turns". The helix does change its turn count, but it still has the same height. That's an issue - I'm gonna need at least the Pitch textbox to change the helix to my liking.

I think it would be worth it to take inspiration from (or perhaps copy) how FreeCAD, for instance, handles the inputs for helix operations. Have a look at my screenshot from within FreeCAD and look what values it uses at a time. I opened the dropdown for "Mode" (used helix properties) here:

you can see there are four ways of defining the helix, but let's assume just 3, since the last two are the same in theory. On brep.io, I'd recommend you show a selection menu for the definition mode (I think you already have that partially with Length Mode), and then just display the needed properties of the helix.

I also think calling it "Length Mode" brings more confusion compared to "Definition Mode".

[mmiscool]

@Lunarien I think it should be much better now. UI flow has been updated and the show/hide fields has been corrected.

[mmiscool]

@Lunarien
Is that working as expected now?

[mmiscool]

Closing this issue. Please comment again if it is not resolved and I will reopen it.