Could someone please help me with drawing a solid that looks like a bolt, I tried following the example on the forum but cant figure it out.

Thanks
Walt

actually, reading back on this tutorial, I've learnt so much more, and so more could be added- like actually making the bolt part, and then adding the two together using booleans. And of course, using the 'C' key!

Anyone? Please!

Ok I am still doing something wrong. I am not sure what I should have in the drop down boxes that are at the top(sweep perp,sweep in place,sweepright) and (curve extents, between points, to object).

When I tried following your post I did get half of a thread showing, but it was the size of the large part of the bolt. I just am not following along very well. Also I am asked to pick start and end, and do not know what to pick for that either.

Walt

Ok I trie that, though I do not aget a twist angle or draft angle box. When I follow what you just said, I get 1/2 a thread showing, missing the back half?

Walt

here is a pic

You have two one rail sweep tools, one for surface (green icons) and one for solid (blue icons). Solids need closed profiles to sweep. You need to pull a selection window around all of the lines and curves that I've drawn that enclose the thread profile, or hold shift while you select them individually to close the profile, otherwise solid sweep will throw an error message. You've swept a surface, not a solid.

I've used an ISO metric thread for the drawing, ISO threads are defined by pitch, which is the lead (coaxial linear travel) of the bolt per revolution. Imperial threads use threads/inch, so you have to work out the pitch by dividing an inch by the number of threads. They also use a few different methods to define diameter. 1/8, 1/4 etc gives you the diameter directly, 10-32 gives you a wire gauge that you'll have to find a diameter for. You'll need to calculate those figures to define a helix to sweep, and although I don't know definitively, I believe imperials also have a variety of thread forms. ISOs are generally standard, 60 included angle, pitch/8 fillet inner, pitch/4 outer fillet.

Probably just indicating that you haven't selected all the segments that enclose the profile. Change the segments to another colour so they show up red when you select them. Hold shift while you select them, release it when you've got them all. You're almost there.....

The fillets on the profile are for clearance, in the real world they're used to ensure that the nut and bolt will screw together without binding. I got them back to front. It should be smaller on the valley of the thread, larger on the thread nose, of course, so they don't interfere. You're almost there, just use a smaller diameter inner cylinder that just fills the cavity without smothering the thread form.
Just had another look at your file, you've swept surfaces again for the flanks of the thread. You've drawn the triangular profile right, just hold shift while you select the three segments to sweep them as a solid.

Your thread profile isn't an equilateral triangle, so I've overlaid symmetrical flanks. I've used imperial units, and drawn an axis, and a helix of .05" pitch. You'll see how the helix relates to the intersection of the flank profile, you need to locate the profile correctly before you fillet for it to follow the sweep path relative to that point.