Creating Adaptive Swept Surfaces

You can create the swept surfaces that use an implicit profile and its constraints along a guiding curve. These swept surfaces are created based on sections along the guiding curve and constraints that can be specified for each of these sections.

This task shows you how to:

Before you begin:

Create a 3D shape containing a surface, curves and sketches.

See Also
About Adaptive Swept Surfaces
In the Knowledge Base
How can I obtain smooth and even boundary edges of an adaptive swept surface?

Create an Adaptive Swept Surface

You can create adaptive swept surface.

  1. From the Surface section of the action bar, click Adaptive Sweep .
  2. In the Guiding Curve box, select a guiding curve.
    If no guiding curve already exists, use the context menu in the Guiding curve box to create either a line or a boundary.
  3. In the Spine box, select a spine if you want it to be different from the guiding curve.
    Important: By default, the spine is the guiding curve.
  4. Optional: In the Reference Surface box, select a surface.

    Reference Surface is the surface on which the guiding curve lies and is used to define the axis system in which the swept surface is created. Indeed one of the axes (H or V) is defined as tangent to the reference surface.

    Important: You can now create a reference surface using the commands available from the context menu of the Reference Surface box.
    Here, if you want to define a reference surface, select the xy plane. Otherwise, the mean plane is used as default. If you choose a boundary as the guiding curve, the reference surface automatically is the surface to which the boundary belongs. You can de-select a reference surface using the Clear Selection context menu in the Reference surface box.
  5. In the Sketch box, select a sketch or a profile to be swept along the guiding curve .
    An axis-system is displayed defining the plane in which the first section is created.

    Important: The axis system is positioned normal to the reference surface.
  6. Select the end point of the guiding curve to create another section.
    The axis-system is displayed at this new section.

  7. Click Sweep sections preview to have a quick wireframe preview of the adaptive sweep surface.
    This option lets you see the evolution of the sketch along the guide curve.

    Three context menu items are available on the handles:

    • Create a section here: lets you create a section at the handle's place. A new point is dropped on the guide curve with the corresponding ratio. If the guide curve is closed, the created point is a 3D coordinates point.
    • Use interpolated handle: the interpolation value between the section parameters is computed. You can move the handle along the guide curve to visualize the parameters evolution.
    • Show all sections' constraints: lets you visualize all the sections and their constraints at the same time.

    The list in the Sections tab is automatically updated with:

    • The first section being at the intersection of the selected sketch and guiding curve.
    • The second section at the selected point on the guiding curve.
    • Click or select the Remove Section context menu, to delete a section from the swept surface. The first section cannot be deleted.
    • Click or select the Rename Section context menu, to give a new - more explicit - name to any user section.
    • Click or select the Activate Section / Deactivate Section context menu, to respectively activate or deactivate adaptive sweep sections.
      Important: When using this option, at least one section must be activated to compute the sweep, otherwise an error is displayed.
  8. In the Deviation box, enter the deviation value.

    It corresponds to a point tolerance.

    Decreasing this value increases the precision but leads to slower performance. By default the value is 0.1mm.
  9. Select the Angular correction check box to smooth the sweeping motion along the reference surface.

    Note: This may be necessary when small discontinuities are detected with regards to the spine tangency or the reference surface's normal. The smoothing is done for any discontinuity which angular deviation is smaller than 0.5 degree, and therefore helps generating better quality for the resulting swept surface. By default, the angular correction is set to 0.5 degree.

  10. Click Preview.


  11. Select the Parents tab to display the elements making up the sweep.
    Tip: You can select one of the parents from the list and click , or select Replaces Parent from the context menu to choose a new parent for the swept surface. The Parent box becomes current and is filled in with the parent to be replaced. Commands from the context menu are available on this box.
  12. Click the Parameters tab to display and redefine the constraints on a given section.
    Use the combo list to define the current section.
  13. Change the constraint value to 5mm, and click Preview.
    The modified sweep is previewed:

  14. Click OK to create the swept surface.
    The surface (identified as Adaptive sweep.xxx) is added to the tree.

Create or Select a Sketch

Once you have selected the guiding curve, you can select an existing sketch or create one by clicking either or selecting Create Sketch from the context menu on the Sketch box to start the Sketcher within the adaptive sweep context.

  • You can select from a wide range of positioned sketches with varying HV axis and origin constraints to create the adaptive swept surfaces. The Adaptive Sweep command handles the sweep transformation internally, without modifying the input sketch.

  • If you want to create a new sketch, the Sketch Creation for Adaptive Sweep dialog box allows you to define the construction elements for a new sketch in relation to existing geometry.

  1. Select a point, used to position the sketch on the guiding curve, as well as the origin of the sketch.
  2. If needed, select construction elements (another guiding curve, support surfaces, and so forth).

    The selection in the geometry implies a global selection of the 3D elements.

    Two options are available:

    • Positioned Sketch: lets you position the created sketch according to the swept surface inputs. Therefore, if you modify the swept surface, the sketch is automatically updated.
    Important: It is available if a point is selected and if the point is on the guiding curve.
    • Aggregated Sketch: this option lets you aggregate the sketch under the swept surface feature in the specification tree.
  3. Click OK.
    The system automatically loads the Sketcher app, and provided the correct option is active, sets the sketch plane parallel to the screen. You can then define a new sketch.

    You can exit Sketcher by clicking , and return to the Adaptive Sweep command. You can then continue to follow the precedure described above in step 5.

    This local definition of the sketch is particularly interesting as it allows to redefine the swept surface simply by editing the local sketch (add/remove construction elements, or constraints for instance).

    Note: If you have created a sketch using the Create Sketch context menu and want to exit the Adaptive Sweep command without losing the sketch, press the To cancel the command but keep the sketch button in the Adaptive Sweep Definition dialog box.

    Important: You can create the sketch using the Sketcher app before entering the Adaptive Sweep command, although it is advised to create it directly in the context of the Adaptive Sweep command. In this case, when you select the 3D construction elements, ensure that you select them directly.

Relimit the Swept Surface

The Relimitation tab enables you to create a multi-sections swept surface using a closed guide. It lets you specify the relimitation type.

Select the Relimit on start section check box to limit the swept surface only on the start section or the Relimit on end section check box to limit the swept surface only on the start section, on both, or on none.

The swept surface can be closed if:

  • The guide curve and spine are closed.
  • The curves created in the Sketcher are closed.
    • When none of the options are selected: the swept surface is extrapolated up to the spine limits.
    • When both options are selected: the swept surface is limited to corresponding sections
    • When one or both options are cleared: the swept surface is swept along the spine and is limited by the spine extremities or by the first guide extremity met along the spine.
Important: You must deactivate both options to create a closed swept surface.