SOLIDWORKS 2016 Sweep in Two Directions

Sometimes it’s much easier to generate a profile sketch for a sweep feature somewhere along the path.  For example if the path crosses normally to one of the reference planes.

Profile along path

Previous versions of SOLIDWORKS required the profile sketch to be placed at one of the endpoints of the path, as it could only travel in one direction.  This may have required a reference plane generated at the endpoint and normal to the path (see this blog post as an example).

SOLIDWORKS 2015 – Only travels in one direction

New in SOLIDWORKS 2016 is the ability to sweep in Direction 1, Direction 2 or Bidirectionally.

New Direction Tools in SOLIDWORKS 2016 Sweep