Swung Surface

Introduction

The Swung Surface function is used to create surfaces using two wireframe chains: the path (trajectory curve) and the profile. The profile is swung along the path using the Z-axis of the Active UCS as the revolution axis for the function. The geometry selection requires that the path is selected in the XY plane, and the profile is selected in the XZ plane of the Active UCS. The path is selected before the profile with both using chain selection. Both the path and the profile can be open or closed chains.

IMPORTANT:     There are three main points for successful swung surface creation:

• The path must be selected on the XY plane of the Active UCS when creating the surface.
• The profile must be selected on the XZ plane of the Active UCS when creating the surface.
• The Z-axis of the Active UCS is the revolution axis, so its location in reference to the profile and path has an effect on the results.

Navigation

To open the Swung Surface function, do one of the following:

• In the Surfaces menu, click Swung Surface.

• On the Surfaces toolbar, click the icon.

• Right-click anywhere in the Workspace, point to CAD, Surfaces, and click Swung Surface.

The parameters display in the Data Entry tab of the Data-CAM Tree Manager.

The Data Entry Parameters

• Preview - Select the check box to enable the CAD preview, which displays what the result will be before you create it. You select both chains before the preview is created.

Preview - Clear the check box to turn off the CAD preview. The surface is created when you finish the profile selection.

• Follow Trajectory Curve - the surface follows the location of the trajectory curve or path.

• Follow Profile Curve - the surface follows the location of the profile.

TIP:   The previous two options provide the same result when the start of the profile and the path are the same distance (XY) from the origin.

• Tolerance - defines the maximum amount of deviation allowed for the surface creation.

• Cancel - closes the Data Entry Manager.

Quick Steps - Swung Surface

1      Open the function and define the Data Entry parameters.

2      Chain select the path on the XY plane of the Active UCS as explained next.

3      Click near the end of the first chain entity to set the start of the chain.

Hold Shift and click near the end of the last entity to set the end of the chain.

Alternatively, you can hold Shift and click the end of the last entity to set the start and end of the chain in one click.

4      Chain select the profile on the XZ plane of the Active UCS using one of the methods described previously.

The CAD preview is automatically created when you finish chain selecting the profile.

5      You can update the Data Entry parameters to see the changes in the CAD preview.

If you turned the CAD preview off, then the surface is created when you finish selecting the profile.

6      To close the function, click Cancel.

The feature is added to the CAD Tree.

Related Topics

How to Create a Swung Surface

The CAD Overview