The Davester wrote:
Hi all,

This is driving me nuts. I have a vertical door that opens out and
down to horizontal like a dishwasher door.

(...)


Do you want the gas spring to exert a
force to close the door or to open it?

I assume you want the door to be self - closing.

Were I you, I would cheat.
create a layer that shows the door fully open,
another layer showing the door fully closed.

Show the body of the gas spring suspended upside
down via a shoulder bolt to the top of the inside of
the opening, nearly fully compressed in
the "fully open" layer. Mounting height does not
matter yet so group the gas spring with the shoulder
bolt so you can move them both in a little while.

Rotate the gas spring so that it's bottom end protrudes
a few degrees into the opening.

Sketch a 4.5" high door bracket near the door hinges
oriented 90 degrees to the door and move the gas
spring / shoulder bolt combination -Z.

Show the piston of the gas spring attached near
the top of the door bracket via another shoulder bolt.

In the "fully closed" layer, rotate your gas
spring so that it remains constrained to the
shoulder bolt that is attached to the door bracket.

Tweak the placement of the shoulder bolts so
that you show the gas spring with proper extension.

Let the computer do the math.


--Winston