How do I add a Sweep for more than one trajectory?

Sweep is a Pull tool option, which creates a 3D solid or 3D surface by sweeping an object along an open or closed path. The object can be a face, edge, surface, 2D or 3D curve. Sweeping a face around a closed path creates a torus.

Sweeping with multiple trajectories

You can Alt+Ctrl+click to select multiple trajectories to sweep along. The trajectory you click first is the origin trajectory (labelled O) and the second trajectory is labelled X. If you select the Normal to Trajectory option, the sweep is aligned along the origin trajectory. If the object being swept is in the middle of the sweep, you can pull in either direction to sweep only in that direction.

Sweeps can vary the sketch entities (or edges) along the sweep trajectory. The trajectories can be thought of as guides that make continual changes to the profiles as if they had been dragged while in Sketch mode. Tangency and other constraints are maintained.

When you sweep using more than two trajectories and Scale Sections is turned off, the profile lines and curves will follow the trajectories individually and constraints are preserved. You can see an example in the image below.

You can use a chain of tangent edges as a guide for Sweep.

The extent (or length) of a sweep is limited by the shortest trajectory. If the profile being swept intersects at any point along the trajectory, you can pull in either direction to sweep only in that direction. You can also select Full Pull to create a bidirectional sweep that extends throughout the trajectory.

The sweep preview includes the following visual elements:

• The blue square indicates the direction of the origin trajectory at its start and is localized around the origin trajectory’s intersection with the profile to be swept.
• A right-angle symbol is displayed on the origin trajectory when you select the Normal to origin trajectory option
• The preview rectangles are green and scale with the sweep if you select the  Scale sections option

Sweep with two guides

In a sweep with two guides, every section plane that is normal to the origin trajectory has a profile section that is aligned to the vector defined by the O-X vector in that plane, scaled by the length of the O-X vector, and limited by the extents of the shortest trajectory. If there are two or more trajectories and the spline that connects them (as a profile) is tangent to the surfaces that contain the trajectory edges, then the spline not only scales and aligns to the O-X vector, but also deforms to keep that profile tangent, at all points along the trajectories, to the neighbouring surfaces. The profile does not have to touch the trajectories, but the profile plane has to intersect with the trajectories.

You can also sweep with two closed trajectories:

Sweep along more than two trajectories

If the profile is composed of lines and circles, then guide curves will control the shape of the profile much the same way a sketch is controlled by dragging the mouse. More specifically, there are three constraints: a line or circle that touches a guide curve will maintain the connection throughout the sweep, a circle with a guide curve at its centre will stay centred on that guide curve through the sweep, and any members of the profile that are tangent will remain tangent. If the profile contains splines, then any lines or splines attached to a guide curve will deform so they remain attached throughout the sweep. In this case, neighbouring faces that are tangent to the profile can be Alt+selected to specify that the profile should remain tangent to the neighbouring face throughout the sweep.

When sweeping, cross-sections can be displayed as a preview for their sweep along the trajectories, also shown in the figure above. You can control the display of the cross-sections with the Animate Full Pull Advanced DS Mechanical option.

Sweep tangent to a surface

If you select a sweep trajectory that is the edge of a surface, and the object being swept is tangent to that surface, then the initial tangency is maintained along the entire sweep, as shown in the figure below.

Sweep with a trajectory and an axis

If you sweep a profile along a trajectory with an axis as the secondary trajectory, then the profile normal is maintained while the profile orientation changes as it is rotated around the axis.