Thanks Alistair...
At the time I wrote it I was making several of these a week for users on PTC Community with plans to save them all on my personal website. But... I got overwhelmed with work and personal issues so I had to scale back my efforts. I'm glad you were able to make use of the information.
I've seen your screenshot and I see what you're trying to do. I agree that an equation to create the spiral is the best way to go. The tutorial used something more complex because the user needed a spiral with all these crazy cuts patterned along the length. In your case, a simple spiral equation works well.
To create the zig-zag, there are several things I would try. First, try patterning along a curve. Use the curve created from the equation to replicate the zig-zag geometry along the entire spiral. You can choose the number of zig-zags or the spacing between them (and let Creo make as many as it can at the given spacing).
If this doesn't work... you might try patterning the zig-zags as enclosed SURFACE features. You will not get any self-intersection errors this way. Once the pattern is created, SOLIDIFY the surfaces to make them solid. This could be dicey and you may need to crank the accuracy down to a smaller value to make it work- but there's a chance this technique will work as long as your spiral isn't really, really tight (like the one in my tutorial).
The last thing you might try would be to make a surface from your spiral equation. Instead of making a solid, make it a surface (like I did in the tutorial). Drop a point on the surface at the very edge... it has to be an "on surface" point but it can lie on the edge. Then, use Flatten Quit to make a flat surface. Next, create your zig-zags using the flat quilt as a reference. Make these solid extrusions. Allow them to extrude down the length of the quilt. Once you've patterned your zig-zag down the length of the surface, use Thicken to give the original surface a thickness and turn it into a solid. Now you'll have a long, thin solid with the zig-zags running down the length of them. Finally, use Solid Bend (renamed Flatten Quilt Deformation in Creo 2) to bend the solid back into it's coiled shape.
This last technique definitely works. I've tried it (at least in Creo 2)... here's what it looks like:
I realize I put the zig-zags on the wrong side but that should be easy to fix. I've included a model for you to examine. It's been done using Creo 2. I didn't catch which version of Pro/E or Creo you were using. If it's something earlier than 5, let me know.
Thanks!
-Brian
Just for the heck of it... here's an example of something else you can do...
You can use your imagination... it's possible to make some crazy shapes with Creo.