Sweep curve in SolidWorks

Question

I am trying to sweep a continuous curve through a set of 3D points in SolidWorks. The sweep is meant to represent a tube, so a circular cross section which stays normal to the curve, is swept along the curve. The curve is made using the SolidWorks curve from xyz points. The points are generated from my own C# program. It is very important that the cross section stay constant along the curve.

The points, which define the curve, causes the sweep to fail. This is due to the points defining a curvature which is to large to sweep for the given diameter. (if I make the diameter of the cross section very small, the sweep does succeed, this is however not a solution to my problem).

What I am trying to do, is to remove the points which cause the sweep to fail with code (preferably MATLAB or C#). I have a lot of points in my curve (about 300) and it is okay if some of them are removed. I have to do this process for multiple sets of points.

If this is not possible, it is acceptable that the final tube is not always continuous at every point, so sharp bends are okay. However, in both cases the cross section has to stay constant.

the Points: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ri4oti7butwe77o/Points.txt?dl=0

Answer 1

In SolidWorks you can use a swept boss base to perform this task.

1. Make a sketch of the profile you want to go through the points.
2. Make 3D sketch of the curve you want the profile to follow.

3. Select the two sketches and use the Swept Boss/Base feature to make the final tube.