The sweep meshing was tested on a couple of examples. All of them could be sweep meshed with appropriate algorithm settings.
The user is supposed to select the source surfaces (one or multiple), then the algorithm determines the side surfaces and the target surface (one).
Limitations of the algorithm:
- all side surfaces must be 4-sided surfaces
- if a side surface is split into multiple 4-sided surfaces that form layers away from the source surfaces, all other side surfaces must be split at the same positions, creating the same number of layers on all side surfaces
- a periodic side surface with a single seam (a cylinder with a single edge in the axial direction) must be split at least one more time to form two 4-sided surfaces
- the target surface must be only one
Currently, the algorithm is based on topology constraints only, and no geometrical constraints are included. That may result in strange/invalid results in special cases. Some geometrical constraints will be added in the future if necessary.
In most cases, the sweep mesh algorithm can replace both the extrude and the revolve procedures.