How do I draw a spiral vector? (Spiral Creator gadget)

What it is

The drawing tools include circles, arcs and curves, but the official manual has no spiral drawing tool. Spiral Creator, a drawing gadget in the official gadget library, makes one for you. You pick a spiral type, the overall width and the number of turns, and it draws a spiral vector. The library says spirals made with the gadget can be reopened and modified later if you need different numbers.

The library groups it with the Gear Maker gadget and describes the spiral types as ones used alongside gears, but the result is an ordinary vector you can use for any design.

This is a flat 2D spiral. It is not the same thing as the preinstalled Wrapped Spiral Layout gadget, which lays out twists around a rotary blank.

Steps

1. Download the version 12 build from the gadget library and install it with Gadgets > Install New Gadget.
2. Open a job and choose Gadgets > Spiral.
3. Fill in the form:

• Anchor Point: where the spiral is placed on the job.
• Spiral Type: choose from the listed types.
• Width: the diameter the spiral must fit inside.
• Times around: how many turns it makes.

4. Click OK. The spiral vector is added to the job.
5. Select it and apply a toolpath. A spiral is normally an open vector (confirm in the 2D View), so use a toolpath that follows a line, such as a Profile toolpath set to cut on the line, the Fluting Toolpath, or Quick Engrave.

Limits and judgment

• The public page does not name the individual spiral types or say how each one spaces its turns. Try each type on a blank job and measure the result before committing to a design.
• If the vector is open, pocket and V-carve toolpaths will not accept it on its own.
• The gap between turns comes from the Width and the Times around. If your bit is wider than that gap, neighboring passes will merge, so check the preview.

Pro tips

• To change a spiral, reopen it with the gadget instead of scaling it by hand, so the turn spacing stays even.
• See the entry on open vectors if a toolpath refuses to calculate on the spiral.