Hiya,
I'm working on a project that includes a long cylindrical(-ish) part that is diamond knurled. I've done custom diamond knurling on lots of parts in KeyCreator before, but I've never had great success with the process. The parts have always taken a very long time to create, the file sizes are enormous, the solids are difficult to manipulate/unite, and using the file eats up all my computer RAM.
I'm wondering if there is a different, possibly faster way to create accurate, clear diamond knurls other than the way I'm currently working.
What I typically do is create a helical spline running around the length of my part, and then create a 2D "tooth" profile that I sweep along the helical spline. I mirror the new solid spline shape, and then copy the two new solid splines as many times as there are teeth around the diameter of the part.
All good so far, but then I run into trouble when I want to subtract the solids from my cylinder. The operation can take several minutes, sometimes hours. There is also no guarantee that the operation will even be successful, as sometimes I will get some sort of face intersection error. I'd say this happens like 30% of the time. I've tried uniting all of the solids together before subtracting them from the cylinder, but this takes longer and is more likely to fail.
Has anyone had more success with this type of operation that would be willing to share their wisdom?
Thank you!! :)