Confused about sweep

Need help? We are here.
#1

what seems to work: draw a spline to follow; draw a closed profile; position the profile near one end of the spline; rotate the profile to be approximately face-normal to the spline i.e. face normal aligned with tangent at near end; sweep. .

if the profile is not near the spline it seems to swerve oddly and the resulting tube isn’t shaped like the spline, especially at the beginning. if the profile isn’t close to face normal, i often get a message about intersecting geometry.

is this expected? what are the rules?

thanks!

#2

@RonJeffries
Sketch any single Line or Curve.
Use Add > Construction pane > choose the type Perpendicular to a Point
Move the Point, if necessary, to the appropriate position on the chosen Line or Curve
Sketch the Profile, to be Swep,t on the New Plane, this can be centred On or Near the Line or Curve End
Alternatively experiment at will with any position on the Plane.

#3

So … I interpret this to be saying that we pretty much need the swept figure to be perpendicular to the curve? So far my experiments lead to errors a lot. I’ll keep trying …

Thanks …

#4

Exactly, otherwise it will wander off course.