SWEEP (Command)

Creates a 3D solid or 3D surface by sweeping a 2D object or subobject along an open or closed path.

Find

Open-ended objects create 3D surfaces, while objects that enclose an area can be set to create either 3D solids or 3D surfaces.

You can use the following objects and paths when creating a swept solid or surface:

Objects that Can Be Swept

Objects that Can Be Used as a Sweep Path

2D and 3D splines

2D and 3D splines

2D polylines

2D and 3D polylines

2D solids

Solid, surface and mesh edge subobjects
3D solid face subobjects Helices

Arcs

Arcs

Circles

Circles

Ellipses

Ellipses

Elliptical arcs

Elliptical arcs

Lines

Lines

Regions

 
Solid, surface and mesh edge subobjects

Trace

 
Note: Select face and edge subobjects by pressing Ctrl while you select them.

To automatically delete the original geometry used to create the object, use the DELOBJ system variable. For associative surfaces, the DELOBJ system variable is ignored and the originating geometry is not deleted.

The following prompts are displayed.

Objects to Sweep

Specifies an object to use as the sweep profile.

Sweep Path

Specifies the sweep path based on the object you select.

Mode

Controls whether the sweep action creates a solid or a surface. Surfaces are swept as either NURBS surfaces or procedural surfaces, depending on the SURFACEMODELINGMODE system variable.

Alignment

Specifies whether the profile is aligned to be normal to the tangent direction of the sweep path.

If the profile is not perpendicular (normal) to the tangent of the start point of the path, then the profile automatically aligns. Enter No at the alignment prompt to prevent this.

Base Point

Specifies a base point for the objects to be swept.

Scale

Specifies a scale factor for a sweep operation. The scale factor is uniformly applied to the objects that are swept from the start to the end of the sweep path.

  • Reference. Scales the selected objects based on the length you reference by picking points or entering values.
Twist

Sets a twist angle for the objects being swept. The twist angle specifies the amount of rotation along the entire length of the sweep path.

  • Bank. Specifies whether the curve(s) being swept will naturally bank (rotate) along a 3D sweep path (3D polyline, spline, or helix).