8

Sweep Modifier 841
• Wide Flange section—Sweeps a
str uctural wide flange section along the spline.
Use Custom S ection—Choose this if you’ve c reated
your own section or there is another shape in the
current scene or in another MA X file that you’d
like to use as your sec tion.
Note: Usinga2DshapeastheSweepmodifier’s
custom section will yield the most predictable
results. If using a 3D shape as the custom sect ion,
for the most predictable results the base object
should be a str aight line or smooth path like a
circle or an arc. The same applies to custom
sections made up of multiple splines. You’ll get the
best results attained by insuring that all vertices in
all the shapes are coplanar.
Custom Section Types group
Section—Displays the name of the custom shape
you’ve selected. This area is blank until you selec t
acustomshape.
Note: You can switch from a custom section to
a built-in section and back without having to
pick the custom-section shape again from t he
viewports.
Pick —If the custom shape you want to use is visible
in the viewport, click the Pick button and then
picktheshapedirectlyfromthescene.
Pick Shape—Click the Pick Shape button to open
the
Pick Shape dialog (page 1–848) .Thisdialog
shows only valid shapes that are currently in the
scene.
Ex tra ct—Lets you create a new shape in the scene
that is either a copy, instance, or reference of the
current custom sec tion. Opens the
Extract Shape
dialog (page 1–849)
.
Merge From File—Lets you choose a section that is
stored in another M AX file. Opens the
Merge File
dialog (page 1–849)
.
Note: When you use the Merge from File option,
you will not be able to U ndo your work.
Move—Sweeps the custom section along the
specified spline. Unlike the Instance, Copy and
Referenceswitches,theselectedsectionismoved
to the spline. Editing the original shape in the
viewp orts has no effect on the Sweep mesh.
Co py—Sweeps a copy of the selected section a long
the specified spline.
Instance—Sweeps an instance (page 3–1051) of the
selected sect ion to the specified spline.
Reference—Sweeps a reference (page 3–1096) of
the selected section along the specified spline.
Note: When using Instance or Reference, adding
modifiers to or editing the or iginal section in the
viewpor ts will change the Sweep m esh .
Interpolation rollout (Sweep modifier)
The controls in the Interpolation rollout of the
Sweep modifier work exactly as they do for any
other spline. Ho wever, the controls affect only the
built-in section you’ve chosen, not the spline that
the section is swept along.
Note: If you want to change the interpolation
settings of the underlying spline path, you need to
select the path object in the modifier stack.
In general, all spline curves are divided into small
straight lines that approximate a true curve. The
number of divisions between each vertex on the
spline are c alled
steps . The more steps used, the
smoother the cur ve appears.
Note: The Interpolation rollout is only active when
built-in sections are used.