Abstract
The GMSolid system for modeling solids is being enhanced by the addition of free-form surfaces represented as B-splines. The major reason for this enhancement is that a wide variety of automotive parts cannot be modeled satisfactorily using existing GMSolid methods based on quadric surfaces. Free-form surfaces, which can be conformed to twisting, nonquadric surface regions, are required for efficient and accurate modeling. Representing free-form surfaces as B-splines provides a convenient mathematical foundation for many of the computational geometry algorithms needed in a solid modeler.
This paper presents an overview of parts in the automotive industry for which free-form surfaces are either necessary or greatly desirable, as well as a description of the methods currently employed within GMSolid to construct B-spline surfaces and to render them using both vector and shaded displays. It concludes with a brief discussion of the issues involved and the approach being followed when the Boolean operations of solid modeling are applied to solids enclosed by free-form surfaces.
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© 1984 Plenum Press, New York
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Sarraga, R.F., Waters, W.C. (1984). Free-Form Surfaces in GMSolid: Goals and Issues. In: Pickett, M.S., Boyse, J.W. (eds) Solid Modeling by Computers. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2811-7_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2811-7_9
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