04.

Revolves and Sweeps

In this lesson, we create the candlestick shown below.

The lesson demonstrates how to:

 Create a revolve feature

 Create a sweep feature
 Create an extruded cut feature with a draft angle

4.1. Sketching a Revolve Profile

 Click New on the Standard toolbar and create a new part.
 Click Revolved Boss/Base on the Features toolbar. The Front, Top, and
Right planes appear.
 Select the Front plane. A sketch opens on the Front plane.
 Click Line on the Sketch toolbar. Sketch a vertical line from the origin, and
sketch the two horizontal lines as shown.
 Click Smart Dimension on the Sketch toolbar. Dimension the sketch as
shown.
Your defined sketch should look like in the following image below:

4.2. Sketching the First Revolve Profile Arc

Now sketch and dimension the arcs and lines needed to complete the profile.
First create the small arc at the top of the sketch.

 Click Tangent Arc on Sketch toolbar. You might need to click the down
arrow on the Arc flyout button to select the Tangent Arc tool.
 Click the endpoint of the top horizontal line, move the pointer to the right,
then downward. Watch the pointer for feedback and for inferencing. As
you sketch, inferencing pointers and lines help you align the pointer with
existing sketch entities and model geometry.
 When the radius is approximately 10mm and the vertical inferencing line is
visible, click again.

 Click Smart Dimension on the Sketch toolbar and dimension the arc radius
to 10.

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4.3. Sketching the Second Revolve Profile Arc
Creation of the vertical line and the second arc:

 Click Line on the Sketch toolbar or right-click in the graphics area and
select Line from the shortcut menu.
 Sketch a vertical line downward approximately 150mm long, starting at the
lower endpoint of the arc. Do not dimension the line at this time.
 Click 3 Point Arc on the Sketch toolbar, or right-click in the graphics area
and select 3 Point Arc. You might need to click the down arrow on the Arc
flyout button to select the 3 Point Arc tool.
 Sketch an arc so that the arc endpoints are coincident with the line. Watch
for the pointer and use the following measurements: Length approximately
40mm, Angle approximately 180° and Radius approximately 20mm
 After clicking to end the arc, set the angle to 180° in the Parameters
section of the Property Manager.
 Click Smart Dimension on the Sketch toolbar or right-click in the graphics
area and select Smart Dimension, and then dimension the arc radius to
20. See image below:

 Click Trim Entities on the Sketch toolbar.

 In the PropertyManager, under Options, click Trim to closest.
 Select the highlighted red segment to delete it:

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  Right-click in the graphics area and select Smart Dimension. Dimension
the upper vertical line to 40, as shown below:

4.4. Completing the Revolve Profile

Adding relations and a tangent arc:

 Click Select on the Standard toolbar, then hold down Ctrl and select the
vertical lines on each side of the lower arc.
 In the PropertyManager, under Add Relations, click Equal, and then click
OK. The Equal relation ensures that both vertical lines will maintain equal
length.
 Click Tangent Arc on the Sketch toolbar, then click the endpoint of the
lower vertical line.
 Move the pointer downward to create an arc that has an angle of 90° and
a radius of approximately 60mm. Click to place the arc as shown below:

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  Sketch another tangent arc. Move the pointer until the endpoint of the arc
is coincident with the endpoint of the bottom horizontal line as shown
below:

 Click View, Sketch Relations to hide the sketch relations in the graphics
area.
 Dimension the rest of the sketch as shown below:

When you are done dimensioning, the sketch is fully defined - all lines and
endpoints are black.

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4.5. Creation of the Revolve Feature

Now that the sketch profile is created, we revolve the profile around the
centerline to create the revolve feature.

 Click Exit Sketch on the Sketch toolbar. The Revolve PropertyManager

appears. If you move the pointer over a box or an icon in the
PropertyManager, a tooltip appears with the name of the box or icon.
 For Axis of Revolution, select the long vertical line in the sketch.
 Under Direction1:

o In Revolve Type, select Blind

o Set Direction 1 Angle to 360
o Click.

 On Standard Toolbar, right click Material and select Edit Material. From
the Database of Materials select Copper Alloys and Brass. Close the
Database.

The Revolve feature is created and looks like below:

 Save the part as Candle Stick.sldprt

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 4.6. Sketching the Sweep Path

A sweep is a base, boss, or cut created by moving a section along a path. In this part of
the tutorial, you create the candlestick handle by using a sweep. First, you sketch the
sweep path. The path can be an open curve, or a closed, non-intersecting curve. Neither
the path nor the resulting sweep can be self-intersecting.

 Select the Front plane in the FeatureManager design tree, and then click
Sketch on the Sketch toolbar to open a new sketch.
 Click Front on the Standard Views toolbar.
 Click Hidden Lines Removed on the View toolbar.
 Click View, Temporary Axes. Notice that the temporary axis of the
revolved base appears.
 Right-click in the graphics area and select Line, then move the pointer
over the temporary axis. The pointer changes to indicating that the pointer
is exactly on the temporary axis.
 Sketch a horizontal line as shown below, and dimension the line to 60.

4.7. Completing the Sweep Path

 Right-click in the graphics area and select Tangent Arc.

 Sketch an arc starting at the endpoint of the line.
 Dimension the arc to a radius of 150. If the radial dimension is out of view,
click the Leaders tab in the Dimension PropertyManager. Click
Foreshortened, and then click V.
 Select the endpoints of the arc and set the vertical dimension to 65. As
you move the pointer, the dimension snaps to the closest orientation.
When the preview indicates the dimension type and location you want,
right-click to lock the dimension type. Click to place the dimension.

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  Right-click and select Tangent Arc, then sketch another arc as shown.
 Dimension it to a radius of 20.

4.8. Adding Relations to the Path

 Click Select on the Standard toolbar, then hold down Ctrl and select
the endpoints of the tangent arc you just sketched.

The Properties PropertyManager appears. The two endpoints are listed under
Selected Entities.

 Under Add Relations, click Horizontal.

 Click V. The dimensions and relations prevent the sweep path from
changing size and shape when moved.
 Click Display/Delete Relations on the Sketch toolbar. The Sketch
Relations PropertyManager lists all the relations in the current sketch,
including both relations that are added automatically as you sketch and
relations that you add manually. For example, the coincident relation
between the sweep path and the revolved base was added

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 automatically. You control the type of relation you want to see with the
Filter option.
 In the PropertyManager, under Relations, select All in this sketch in
Filter.
 Select each relation in Relations. As you select each relation, its
entities are highlighted in the graphics area.
 Click V

4.9. Dimensioning the Sweep Path

Next, dimension the sweep path with respect to the revolved base.

 Dimension the distance between the horizontal line of the sweep path and
the bottom edge of the revolved feature to 10.
 The sweep path is fully defined as shown below.
 Click Exit Sketch on the Sketch toolbar.

4.10. Sketching the Sweep Section

After sketching the sweep path, we need to sketch the sweep section.

 Select the Right plane in the FeatureManager design tree, and then click
Sketch on the Sketch toolbar to open a new sketch.
 Click Normal To on the Standard Views toolbar.
 Click Ellipse on the Sketch toolbar, then sketch an ellipse anywhere in the
graphics area. To sketch an ellipse, drag horizontally from the center point

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 of the ellipse to set the width of the ellipse, release the pointer, then click
and drag vertically to set the height.
 Click Select on the Standard toolbar, then hold down Ctrl and click the
endpoints of the ellipse as shown.

 In the PropertyManager, under Add Relations, click Horizontal, and then

click OK. This relation ensures that the ellipse is not slanted.
 Dimension the ellipse as shown below:

 Click V

4.11. Completing the Sweep Section Sketch

 Click Isometric on the Standard Views toolbar.
 Hold down Ctrl and click the center point of the ellipse and the endpoint of
the horizontal line of the sweep path.

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  In the PropertyManager, under Add Relations, click Coincident, then click
OK.

 Click View, Temporary Axes to hide the temporary axis.

 Click Exit Sketch on the Sketch toolbar.

4.12. Creating the Sweep

 Click Swept Boss/Base on the Features toolbar.
 In the PropertyManager:

o Select Sketch3 - the ellipse - in the graphics area for Profile.

o Select Sketch2 - the path - in the graphics area for Path.

A preview of the sweep appears in the graphics area. Note how the colors in
Profile and Path match those in the graphics area.

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  Under Options, select Follow Path in Orientation/twist type.
 Click OK to create the sweep.
 Click Shaded with Edges on View toolbar. The candlestick’s handle is
complete.

 Save the part.

4.13. Completing the Part

The final step is to create a cut to hold a candle.

 Select the top face of the revolved base feature, and then click Extruded
Cut on the Features toolbar.
 Click Normal To on the Standard Views toolbar.
 Click Circle on the Sketch toolbar, and select the sketch origin. Sketch and
dimension a circle as shown below:

 Click Exit Sketch on the Sketch toolbar.

 Click Isometric on Standard Views toolbar.
 In the PropertyManager, under Direction 1:

o Select Blind in End Condition. Click Reverse Direction if necessary

to make the arrow point down.

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  Set Depth to 25
 Click Draft On/Off, and set Draft Angle to 15

 Click V. The cut is added to the top of the candlestick.

4.14. Viewing the Cut

We can make the part transparent to help to see the angled cut.

 At the top of the FeatureManager design tree, to the right of the tabs, click
Show Display Pane.
 Move the pointer over the candle stick at the top of the FeatureManager
design tree, and then across into the Transparency column.

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  When the pointer changes to a Hand, click in the column. In the graphics
area, the part becomes transparent. You can see the angled cut in the top
of the candle stick.

 Click again in the Transparency column to return the part to its original
appearance.

Summary
In this lecture we discussed revolve and sweep features as modeling methods for
creating parts in SolidWorks.

References
 Dassault Systems – SolidWorks Fundamentals, Concord, Massachusetts,
United States, 2012
 Leondes, C. - Systems Techniques and Computational Methods, CRC
Press, Boca Raton, 2001

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