---
title: Sweep
order: 10
---

Sweep runs a shape along a path of points. A circle makes a tube, a rounded box makes a bar, a sphere makes a round-capped pipe, and every corner of the path can be filleted into a perfectly smooth arc. The path is edited entirely in the viewport.

![the Sweep modifier settings](../assets/modifiersettings-sweep.webp)

## Adding a sweep

- **Pie menu** (`Q`): the *Sweep* button in the South wedge's modifier grid
- **Right-click menu**: *Modifiers → Sweep*
- **Modifier panel**: *Add Modifier → Sweep*

Sweep is added to every selected shape and starts with two path points along the object's local Z, a few times the shape's size apart.

> Adding a Sweep from the modifier panel's *Add Modifier* menu gives it an empty path, and the gizmo only appears once the path has points. Press **Add Point** in the panel to seed it, or add the Sweep from the pie or right-click menu instead.

![a rounded box swept along a filleted path](../assets/sweep.webp)

## Editing the path

With the swept object active and selected, the path draws in the viewport with a handle on every point:

| Handle | Action |
|---|---|
| **Blue dot** (one per point) | Drag to move that point freely in 3D: the drag follows the view plane |
| **Green dot** (appears at a segment's middle when you hover near it) | Click to insert a new point there |
| **Orange handle** (interior points only, floated out from the corner) | Drag to set that corner's rounding. Its distance from the point *is* the value |
| **`X` / `Delete`** | While hovering a blue dot, remove that point (the path keeps at least two) |

`Space`, `Enter` or releasing the mouse confirms a drag; `RMB` or `Esc` cancels and puts the point back. Every edit re-drives the swept solid live, and the proxy mesh follows when you let go.

- **Corner rounding** is an exact arc. A radius larger than the corner can hold is capped at the largest arc that fits between the two neighbouring points.
- **Caps**: the two open ends are closed with the profile's own shape, so the shape's *Rounding* and *Bevel* style them. There is no separate cap control, and the end points have no rounding handle.

## Panel

The modifier panel lists the same points numerically:

- **Point N**: X / Y / Z of each path point, in the object's local space, with a remove button
- **Rounding**: the corner radius, after every interior point (`0` = sharp corner)
- **Add Point**: appends a point past the last one

Paths are capped at 64 points.

## Gizmo settings

The path gizmo is on by default. Its toggles live in *Render Properties → Gizmos → Ngon*, under the **Sweep** heading: *Active Object* and *Chisel Tool* gates plus a **Sweep Gizmo** master switch. See [Render Engine: Gizmos](../render-engine/gizmos.md#ngon).

## Notes

- A sweep has no taper or roll of its own; use [Lattice](lattice.md) for that.
- [Convert Legacy Curve](../operations/convert-legacy-curve.md) turns a **Curve Tube** into a sphere with a Sweep along the curve's points.

## See also

- [Lattice](lattice.md): deform the finished sweep
- [Revolve](revolve.md): spin a profile instead of sweeping it
- [Ngon](../primitives/shapes/ngon.md): the same dot-and-handle editing on a polygon outline
- [Curve-Based Primitives](../primitives/curves.md): the Curve Tube primitive