6/8/2020 SolidWorks: Swept Boss/Base Command — Perception Engineering

SolidWorks: Swept Boss/Base Command

Marcus Prigge · July 2, 2018

This blog will show three basic examples of how to use the Swept
Boss/Base feature in SolidWorks. There are two main requirements
to create a Swept Boss or Base: A closed profile and a path. This
first example will show how to create a sweep using a circular
profile and an open relatively linear path. Figure 1, below, shows
the profile drawn on the front plane and the sweep path drawn on
the top plane. It is important to make sure that the starting point of
the path lies on the same plane as the profile. Also, notice how the
center of the circle profile is centered on the start of my path. This
ensures that the sweep will be centered to my profile; however, any
location contained inside the profile, including the boundary, can
be used to generate a sweep.

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6/8/2020 SolidWorks: Swept Boss/Base Command — Perception Engineering

Figure 1: Profile and Path

Once your profile and sketch are defined, select the Swept
Boss/Base command on the features tab as seen in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Swept Boss/Base Command

The command window will then appear on the left side of the
screen. Click on the boxes under the Profile and Path section and
select your profile and path sketches as seen in Figure 3. A
preview of your sweep will appear to further verify your intended
feature.

Figure 3: Command Manager & Execution

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The green check mark on the top left of the command manager will
execute the command and reveal the finished model as seen in
Figure 4.

Figure 4: Example 1 Finished Model

This first example shows the basics of generating a sweep feature.

Examples 2 and 3 dive into more complex geometry and some
other capabilities of this command. Figure 5 shows the cross profile
and the slot-shaped path used for the sweep in Example 2.

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6/8/2020 SolidWorks: Swept Boss/Base Command — Perception Engineering

Figure 5: Example 2 Profile and Path

Selecting the Swept Boss/Base command and the two sketches

above as the profile and path accordingly, Figure 6 shows the initial
preview of the sweep. Expanding the options drop down in the
command manager, as indicated by the red arrow in Figure 6,
SolidWorks allows you to change the orientation of the profile
along the sweep by assigning a profile twist. The profile twist can
be specified by a twist value, direction vector, or by applying
tangency to adjacent faces. In this example, a profile twist value of
720 degrees (also available in radians or revolutions) was set and
can be seen in Figure 7.

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6/8/2020 SolidWorks: Swept Boss/Base Command — Perception Engineering

Figure 6: Example 2 Command Manager and Preview

Figure 7: Assigning a Profile Twist

After hitting the green check, the resulting model from the sweep
feature is shown in Figure 8.

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6/8/2020 SolidWorks: Swept Boss/Base Command — Perception Engineering

Figure 8: Example 3 Model

This final example will cover how to setup and execute a sweep
using guide curves. Guide curves in comparison to profile twist
allow for a varying profile size along the path of the sweep. Figure
9 shows separate sketches of the square profile, line path, and the
additional guide curve drawn on the same plane as the path. Make
sure when adding a guide curve to a sweep that the pierce
constraint is used to connect the start of the curve to the edge of
the profile (see Figure 9). In utilizing guide curves, it is also crucial
that profile of the sweep is not fully constrained otherwise the
sweep will fail. In this example, the height of square profile is
constrained but not the width.

Figure 9: Adding a Guide Curve Sketch

After sketching the profile, path, and guide curve on separate

sketches, enter the Swept Boss/Base command manager and add
in the profile and path designated in Figure 9 above. Select the
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6/8/2020 SolidWorks: Swept Boss/Base Command — Perception Engineering

guide curve drop down and, in the box, select the guide curve
sketch from the feature tree (see Figure 10). Since the width of the
profile is not constrained, it can follow the guide curve as it is

swept down the intended path. After executing the command, the
resulting model is seen in Figure 11.

Figure 10: Adding a Guide Curve in the Command Manager

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6/8/2020 SolidWorks: Swept Boss/Base Command — Perception Engineering

Figure 11: Example 3 Model

That’s all for now! You now know the basics of the Swept
Boss/Base. If you like the content or have questions, signup for our
email list to stay in the loop for solutions or weekly content.

Written By:

Marcus Prigge
Project Engineer at Perception
Engineering

Connect with Marcus

on LinkedIn

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