ThreadSolidModeler

Origin

ThreadSolidModeler is a fork of the original coolOrange ThreadModeler by Philippe Leefsma. This repository starts from that codebase and continues it for Autodesk Inventor 2026.

What it does

ThreadSolidModeler is an Autodesk Inventor add-in that turns existing thread features into modeled 3D thread geometry.

• It works on selected ThreadFeature objects in a Part document.
• It exposes two commands in the Inventor ribbon for the Part environment: the ISO path and a dedicated 3D Print path.
• It opens a modeless dialog where you choose the thread sketch template and the pitch offset.
• It uses the thread metadata already stored by Inventor to build the modeled result.
• It supports both standard and tapered threads.
• It suppresses the original cosmetic thread feature after the modeled geometry is created.

The current default template is ISO Template.ipt. BSW Template.ipt is still shipped in the bundle and can be selected manually.

How it works

1. Select one or more thread features in a Part.
2. Launch ThreadSolidModeler from the ribbon for the ISO workflow, or ThreadSolidModeler 3D Print for the print workflow.
3. The ISO dialog loads the default template and lets you change it if needed.
4. The 3D Print dialog reads the selected thread feature, pre-fills a trapezoidal profile from the nominal diameter, and lets you override the dimensions manually.
5. The add-in builds a modeled 3D thread from the template sketch or the dedicated print profile.
6. The original cosmetic thread feature is suppressed once the modeled result is created.

The add-in is intentionally kept in the Part workflow only. The ribbon tab is shown for Part documents.

Installation

From a GitHub release

The badge above points to the latest GitHub release. The release workflow publishes a zip archive for every tag that starts with v.

1. Open the latest release page from the badge above.
2. Download the release archive from GitHub.
3. Extract the ThreadSolidModeler.bundle folder from the zip.
4. Copy the bundle into one of these locations:
   • %APPDATA%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\ for the current Windows user
   • %ProgramData%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\ for all users on the machine
5. Restart Autodesk Inventor 2026.

The bundle contains the add-in manifest, the compiled assembly, the templates, and the supporting files Inventor expects at startup.

From source

If you want to build it locally:

1. Open ThreadModeler.sln.
2. Build the Release configuration on Windows.
3. Use the generated bin\release\ThreadSolidModeler.bundle layout as the installable package.

To build and deploy the local Release bundle in one step, run:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\build-and-deploy-release.ps1

Notes

• The add-in targets Autodesk Inventor 2026.
• The release package is designed as a bundle, not as a standalone DLL drop.
• If you already have an older roaming bundle installed, remove it before testing a new release to avoid loading the wrong copy.
• The 3D Print path uses conservative profile defaults and validates coil geometry before creating the feature to reduce coil failures.

Attribution

The original coolOrange / Philippe Leefsma attribution is preserved in the source headers and license file.