Hi,

I have an anchor (think of a drywall anchor) that I am modeling (see attached file:  Anchor_with_arc.jpg).  I have 2 questions regarding this.  First, I want to take the "barbs" on the leg of the anchor, and sweep them along an arc (the arc can be seen as in "red" on the drawing).

First question - if I know the overall length of the leg when it is straight (vertical), then how do I know how long the "arced" or "bent" length will be?  This is more of a mathematical question, but basically, if you take a straight line & bend it into an arc, it will be shorter than the overall length of the straight line.

Second question - once I get that, then how can I sweep the "barbs" along that arced trajectory?  I've done swept profiles before, but usually just a circular geometry along a helix (to simulate threads).  I've never swept such a complex geometry (see attached file:  Barb_Profile.jpg).  Would I just choose the 2-D sketch profile of the barb & use it to "pierce" my arc?  How do I make several of them along the arc, as opposed to one continuous sweep (like when modeling threads, there is only ONE geometry that sweeps the entire profile).  Here, I have several smaller geometries, each sweeping along a separate area of the arc.

I hope I've explained my question clearly enough, if not, please let me know.

Thanks in advance,

Rob

Solidworks 2010