Part Modeling > Part Modeling > Base Features > Sweeps > About the Sweep User Interface
About the Sweep User Interface
The Sweep tab consists of commands, tabs, and shortcut menus. Click Model > Sweep to open the Sweep tab.
Commands
Solid—Creates a solid feature.
Surface—Creates a surface feature.
—Opens the internal Sketcher to create or edit the sweep cross section.
Remove Material—Removes material along the sweep to create a cut for a solid feature or a quilt trim for a surface feature.
—Flips the remove functionality to remove material from the opposite side of the sketch.
—Adds a thickness to a sketch to create a thin solid, a thin solid cut, or a thin surface trim.
Thickness box—Sets a thickness value.
—Switches the thicken direction between one side, the other side, or both sides of the sketch.
Quilt collector—Displays a quilt to trim when Surface and Remove Material are selected.
Section Unchanged—Creates a constant section sweep. Section does not change its shape as it sweeps along the trajectory; only the orientation of the frame on which the section lies changes.
Allows section to change—Creates a variable section sweep.
Constrains the section to trajectories, or uses section relations with the trajpar parameter to make the sketch variable. The references to which the sketch is constrained change the shape of the section. The sketch regenerates at points along the origin trajectory and updates its shape accordingly.
Tabs
References
Trajectories table
Trajectories—Displays trajectories, including the trajectory that you selected as the origin, and sets types of trajectories.
X—Sets trajectory as an x-trajectory.
N—Sets trajectory as a normal trajectory. Sections are normal to the trajectory with the N check box selected.
T—Sets trajectory as tangent to Side 1, Side 2, or to a selected surface reference.
Details—Opens the Chain dialog box to modify the properties of the selected chain.
Section plane control—Sets how the section plane is oriented (the z-direction of the sweeping coordinate system).
Normal To Trajectory—The section plane remains normal (perpendicular) to the origin trajectory throughout its length. The generic (default) sweep.
Normal To Projection—The section plane remains normal to the origin trajectory as it is viewed along the projection direction. The z-axis is tangent to the projection of the origin trajectory at the direction specified. The Direction reference collector activates prompting you to choose a direction reference. No horizontal/vertical control is required.
Constant Normal Direction—The z-axis is parallel to the specified direction reference vector. The Direction reference collector activates, prompting you to choose a direction reference.
Direction reference collector—Displays a plane, an axis, a coordinate system axis, or a straight entity to define the projection direction when Normal To Projection or Constant Normal Direction is selected. Flip reverses the reference direction.
Horizontal/Vertical control—Determines how the frame rotation around the sketch plane's normal is oriented along the sweep.
Automatic—Orients the section plane in the xy-direction. The direction of the x-vector is calculated so that the swept geometry is minimally twisted. Automatic is the default for an origin trajectory without any referenced surfaces. The direction reference collector allows you to define the initial section or frame x-axis orientation at the start of the sweep. Sometimes it is necessary to specify the x-axis direction, for example, for straight line trajectories or trajectories that have a straight segment at the start.
Normal to Surface—Sets the y-axis of the section plane to be normal to the surface on which the origin trajectory lies. This is the default option when the origin trajectory reference is a curve on a surface, one-sided edge of a surface, two-sided edge of a surface or solid edge, curve created though intersection of surfaces, or two projection curves. Click Next to move to the next normal surface.
X-Trajectory—Sets the x-axis of the section plane to pass through the intersection point of the specified x-trajectory and the section plane along the sweep.
X direction reference at start collector—Displays the section plane x-axis orientation at the start point of the origin trajectory when Normal To Trajectory or Constant Normal Direction is selected, with Automatic horizontal/vertical control.
Options
Capped ends check box—Closes each end of a sweep feature. Available for surface sweeps with a closed loop section and an open trajectory.
Merge ends check box—Connects the ends of a solid sweep feature to a nearby solid surface without leaving gaps. Available when the sweep section is constant, when there is one open, planar trajectory, when Normal To Trajectory is selected for section plane control, when Automatic is selected for horizontal/vertical control, when the nearby item includes at least one solid feature, when the sweep adds geometry to an existing body, and the end points of the trajectory coincide with the surfaces of that same body.
Sketch placement point—Specifies the point on the origin trajectory to sketch the section. The start point of the sweep is not affected. The start point of the sweep is used as the default location where you sketch the section if Sketch placement point is empty.
Tangency
Trajectories—Displays a list of trajectories in the sweep feature.
References—Controls surfaces with tangent trajectories.
None—Disables the tangent trajectory.
Side 1—Sweep section contains a centerline tangent to surfaces on side 1 of the trajectory.
Side 2—Sweep section contains a centerline tangent to surfaces on side 2 of the trajectory.
Selected—Manually specify surfaces for tangent centerlines in the sweep section.
Body Options
Available when the feature is created as a solid.
Add geometry to body—Displayed when geometry is added.
Create new body check box—Creates the feature in a new body.
Body collector
Selects the body to which geometry is added when you add the feature to an existing body.
Shows the name of the new body when you create the feature in a new body.
Cut geometry from body—Displayed when geometry is removed.
All—Cuts geometry from all the bodies that the feature passes through.
Selected—Cuts geometry from the selected bodies.
Body collector—Selects the body from which geometry is removed.
Properties
Name box—Sets a name for a sweep.
—Displays detailed component information in a browser.
Shortcut Menus
Right-click the graphics window to access shortcut menu commands.
Solid—Switches from surface geometry to solid.
Surface—Switches from solid geometry to surface.
Remove Material—Removes material along the sweep to create a cut for a solid feature or a quilt trim for a surface feature.
—Adds a thickness to a sketch to create a thickened solid, a thickened solid cut, or a thickened surface trim.
Section Unchanged—Creates a constant section sweep. Section does not change its shape as it sweeps along the trajectory; only the orientation of the frame on which the section lies changes.
Allows section to change—Creates a variable section sweep.
Constrains the section to trajectories, or uses section relations with the trajpar parameter to make the sketch variable. The references to which the sketch is constrained change the shape of the section. The sketch regenerates at points along the origin trajectory and updates its shape accordingly.
—Opens Sketcher so you can create or edit the internal sketch.
Capped ends—Closes each end of the feature when Surface is selected.
Merge ends—Connects the ends of a solid sweep feature to a nearby solid surface without leaving gaps. Available when the sweep section is constant, when there is one open, planar trajectory, when Normal To Trajectory is selected for section plane control, when Automatic is selected for horizontal/vertical control, when the nearby item includes at least one solid feature, when the sweep adds geometry to an existing body, and the end points of the trajectory coincide with the surfaces of that same body.
Trajectory—Activates the Trajectories collector.
Start X Direction—Activates the X direction reference at start collector.
Placement Point—Activates the Sketch placement point collector.
Clear—Clears the active collector. You cannot clear the origin trajectory reference or normal, x, and tangent trajectories.
Normal To Trajectory—Sets the moving frame to always be normal to a specified trajectory.
Normal To Projection—Sets the y-axis of moving frame to be parallel to a specified direction and sets the z-axis to be tangent to the projection of the original trajectory along the specified direction.
Constant Normal Direction—Sets the z-axis of moving frame to be parallel to a specified direction.
Automatic—Sets the section plane to be automatically oriented in the xy-direction.
Sketch—Opens the internal section Sketcher.
Constant section—Specifies that the section shape does not change as it is swept along the trajectory.
Variable section—Specifies that the shape of the section can be changed as it is swept along the trajectory.
Remove—Removes a reference for the selected trajectories collector. You cannot remove the origin trajectory reference. However, you can replace it by selecting a new origin trajectory reference in the graphics window.
Next Surface—Moves to the next normal surface.
Select bodies—Activates the body collector so you can select bodies.
Create new body—Creates the feature as a new body.
All—Removes geometry from all the bodies that the feature passes through.
Selected—Removes geometry from the selected bodies.