Surfaces
Freeform surface, or freeform surfacing, is used in CAD and other computer graphics software to describe the skin of a 3D geometric element. Freeform surfaces do not have rigid radial dimensions, unlike regular surfaces such as planes, cylinders and conic surfaces. They are used to describe forms such as turbine blades, car bodies and boat hulls. Initially developed for the automotive and aerospace industries, freeform surfacing is now widely used in all engineering design disciplines from consumer goods products to ships. Most systems today use nonuniform rational B-spline (NURBS) mathematics to describe the surface forms; however, there are other methods such as Gorden surfaces or Coons surfaces .
The forms of freeform surfaces (and curves) are not stored or defined in CAD software in terms of polynomial equations, but by their poles, degree, and number of patches (segments with spline curves). The degree of a surface determines its mathematical properties, and can be seen as representing the shape by a polynomial with variables to the power of the degree value. For example, a surface with a degree of 1 would be a flat cross section surface. A surface with degree 2 would be curved in one direction, while a degree 3 surface could (but does not necessarily) change once from concave to convex curvature. Some CAD systems use the term order instead of degree. The order of a polynomial is one greater than the degree, and gives the number of coefficients rather than the greatest exponent.
The poles (sometimes known as control points) of a surface define its shape. The natural surface edges are defined by the positions of the first and last poles. (Note that a surface can have trimmed boundaries.) The intermediate poles act like magnets drawing the surface in their direction. The surface does not, however, go through these points. The second and third poles as well as defining shape, respectively determine the start and tangent angles and the curvature. In a single patch surface (Bézier surface), there is one more pole than the degree values of the surface. Surface patches can be merged into a single NURBS surface; at these points are knot lines. The number of knots will determine the influence of the poles on either side and how smooth the transition is. The smoothness between patches, known as continuity, is often referred to in terms of a C value:
- C0: just touching, could have a nick
- C1: tangent, but could have sudden change in curvature
- C2: the patches are curvature continuous to one another
Two more important aspects are the U and V parameters. These are values on the surface ranging from 0 to 1, used in the mathematical definition of the surface and for defining paths on the surface: for example, a trimmed boundary edge. Note that they are not proportionally spaced along the surface. A curve of constant U or constant V is known as an isoperimetric curve, or U (V) line. In CAD systems, surfaces are often displayed with their poles of constant U or constant V values connected together by lines; these are known as control polygons.
Read more about this topic: Freeform Surface Modelling
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