Segmented Path for Sweep_Path Method

[JonathonMcMullan]

I suspect I'm missing something obvious but what is the suggested way to make a line with multiple sections for a path? The sweep_path takes a "TrimmedCurve" object but all of the examples use a geometry primitive first rather than line type objects. I have a square that I want to sweep along a line defined by a sequence of points. Thanks!

origin = Point3D([0, 0, 0], unit=UNITS.mm)
plane = Plane(origin, direction_x=[1, 0, 0], direction_y=[0, 0, 1])

sketch_path = agc.shapes.curves.trimmed_curve()
p1 = Point2D([0, 0], unit=UNITS.mm)
p2 = Point2D([0, cell_z/2], unit=UNITS.mm)
p3 = Point2D([cell_x/2, cell_z/2], unit=UNITS.mm)

body = design.sweep_sketch("donutsweep", sketch_profile, sketch_path)

[RobPasMue]

Hi @JonathonMcMullan - I gave it a try to your request and came up with the following script that demos how I would do it personally. See the following code:

"""Script to create a box sketch and sweep it along a multi-point straight line path."""

from ansys.geometry.core import launch_modeler
from ansys.geometry.core.math import Plane, Point2D, Point3D, Vector3D
from ansys.geometry.core.shapes import Interval, Line
from ansys.geometry.core.sketch import Sketch

# Start the modeler
modeler = launch_modeler()

# Create a new design
design = modeler.create_design("BoxSweepExample")

# Define the box sketch on the XY plane at the first path point
# The box will be a 0.1 x 0.1 meter square centered at the origin
box_sketch = Sketch(plane=Plane(origin=Point3D([0, 0, 0])))
box_sketch.box(
    center=Point2D([0, 0]),
    width=0.1,  # 0.1 meters
    height=0.1,  # 0.1 meters
)

# Create a multi-point path with straight line segments
# Define path points in 3D space
# Note: Each segment must move in Z direction since the sketch is on the XY plane
path_points = [
    Point3D([0, 0, 0]),
    Point3D([-0.5, 0, 0.3]),  # Move in -X and Z
    Point3D([-0.5, -0.5, 0.6]),  # Move in -Y and Z
    Point3D([-1.0, -0.5, 0.9]),  # Move in -X and Z
    Point3D([-1.0, -1.0, 1.2]),  # Move in -Y and Z
]

# Create trimmed line segments between consecutive points
path = []
for i in range(len(path_points) - 1):
    start_point = path_points[i]
    end_point = path_points[i + 1]
    start_to_end_vec = Vector3D.from_points(start_point, end_point)

    # Create a line from start to end
    line = Line(origin=start_point, direction=start_to_end_vec)

    # Trim the line to the interval [0, distance]
    # The parameter goes from 0 (at origin) to distance (at end_point)
    trimmed_line = line.trim(Interval(0, start_to_end_vec.magnitude))

    path.append(trimmed_line)

# Sweep the box sketch along the path
swept_body = design.sweep_sketch(
    name="SweptBox",
    sketch=box_sketch,
    path=path,
)

print(f"Created swept body: {swept_body.name}")
print(f"Body ID: {swept_body.id}")
print(f"Is surface: {swept_body.is_surface}")
print(f"Number of faces: {len(swept_body.faces)}")
print(f"Number of edges: {len(swept_body.edges)}")
print(f"Volume: {swept_body.volume}")

# Optionally plot the result (requires PyVista)
try:
    design.plot()
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Could not plot the design: {e}")

This is an example output of the plot:

You can see how the box was propagated along the Z-direction in a zig-zag fashion. Hope this helps!

[RobPasMue]

If the previous code worked for you, please mark it as an answer so that others can benefit from it! Otherwise, happy to help in whatever you need =)

[JonathonMcMullan]

Hi @RobPasMue. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. This works nicely.

[RobPasMue]

Glad to hear that! Let me know if you need anything else!