VRMesh Tutorial

NURBS Creation Tutorial

Objective
Learn how to create NURBS surfaces from meshed objects. Follow the step-by-step
workflow to create wireframe curves, construct quad meshes, and finally produce NURBS
surfaces. You may also compare the NURBS surfaces and the triangle-meshed object to
check for accuracy.

Import File
Click the Import command from the File menu (File > Import). The imported file name is
shown in the Object Tree Window on the right side of the screen. Clicking an object in the
tree window will select the object for use.

Start the Mesh to NURBS module

Click the Mesh to NURBS command from the Wire menu (Wire > Mesh to NURBS), or click

the icon in the Toolbar. A working panel is shown in the Parameter Window on the
right side of the screen. The step-by-step workflow guides you through the process as
shown in following steps:

Step 1: Create Wireframe Curves

The software helps you extract edge curves and create wireframe curves.
1. Mark edges. Specify the Curvature Sensitivity, and click the [Mark by Curvature]
button to mark high curvature edges automatically. You can then use the mark brush
to paint over the edges directly as needed. Hold down Ctrl while painting to erase
the paint color; hold down Alt to erase all paint colors on a brush path. Select the
Label Regions checkbox to view separated regions (identified in different colors).
Each region had better to be separated as a quadrangular-shaped patch.

Mark Manually

Mark by Curvature Label Regions

2. Extract curves. Once you are satisfied with the marked edges, press the [Trace
Edges] button to create wireframe curves using the marked edges.

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Create wireframe curves

Step 2: Edit Curves

The software provides a variety of editing tools to optimize wireframe curves.

Draw curves. Press the button , sketch directly on the meshes, and double-click
when done. Hold down Ctrl while drawing to make the sketched curve automatically
contact the intersected curves.

Move curves. Press the button , click or drag the Left-Mouse-Button to freely
move a control point. Hold down Ctrl while moving to snap the control point to a
vertex; hold down Shift to smooth a curve; hold down Alt to make two end points
contact each other.

Merge/Split curves. Press the button , drag the Left-Mouse-Button across the
intersection point to merge two neighboring curves into a single curve. Hold down
Ctrl to split a curve. Hold down Shift to merge all manifold curves.

Check floating points. Press the button . A dialog box will open and display the
number of floating end points. The floating point is marked in the foreground color.

You may join two nearby end points together by pressing the Contact button
and dragging one end point toward another end point.

Adjust control points. You can subdivide the number of control points by specifying
the Segment Length or Segment Number. You can also change the display color,
size of control points, and the width of wireframe curves.

Two other editing tools may help with editing wireframe curves. The Convert tool ,
allows you to convert the selected surface curve into a wireframe curve. The Extend tool

, allows you to extend the desired wireframe curve for a given width.

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Step 3: Construct Grids

Press the [Construct All] button to construct grids for all regions based on the given
resolution. Please note that the [Closed Surface] checkbox must be selected if your object
is a closed surface. To show the wireframe of an object, click View > Display > Wireframe,

or click the icon at the top of the screen. To better view the grids, uncheck the Object
box in the Display panel.

If the shape of the grids is undesirable, press the [Delete All] button to delete all grids.
You can construct better grids for a desired region in the following steps:
1. Construct grids for a single region. Press the [Construct] button, and click in a
desired region to construct grids for the selected region. As the figure below shows,
the grids are not well shaped. Hold down Ctrl and click in the region to delete the
selected grids.

2. Redefine the U/V type of wireframe curves in the selected region. Press the
[Redefine U/V] button, and click in the desired region to show the U/V type of
wireframe curves. The U type is displayed in red. The V type is displayed in the
foreground color. Hold down Ctrl and click near a curve to change the curve type to
the U direction. Hold down Alt and click near a curve to change the curve type to the
V direction. Press the [Construct] button to reconstruct the grids.

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Original U/V type Redefined U/V type

Note: for ease of selection, it is better to leave the object visible and rendered as a
surface when execute the construct grids and redefine U/V type commands.
If you would like to export quad meshes in the OBJ file format, press the [Create Object]
button on the bottom of the panel. The software will combine all quad-meshed regions into
a new object for exporting, which will appear in the Object Tree Window.

Step 4: Fit Surface

Fit NURBS surfaces to the triangle-meshed object with G1 continuity. Check the radio button
Region, specify the Tension to around 0.1, and the Outlie Factor to around 0.6. Press
the [Fit All] button to fit NURBS surfaces to all regions in one operation. You can get a
smoother surface by increasing the tension value. The Outlie Factor defines the position of
the first row (column) relative to the boundary. The smaller the value of Outlie Factor, the
closer the first row (column) is to the boundary.

NURBS Surfaces

Please note that we didnt select the Detect Sharp Edge checkbox. So, the software will fit
all edges with G1 continuity in this example. The G1 connection type produces smoother
connections between neighboring regions. If this checkbox is selected, the software
identifies sharp edges automatically based on the user-defined sensitivity. The identified
sharp edges will be fitted with G0 continuity, and the other edges will be fitted with G1
continuity.
If a boundary edge needs to be stitched, check the radio button Boundary, and press the
[Stitch] button to stitch a boundary manually. If NURBS surfaces around corners need to
be fitted separately, check the radio button Corner, and press the [Fit] button or [Fit All]
button to fit the corner areas. You can get a smoother corner by increasing the tension
value.

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 VRMesh Tutorial

If you would like to export NURBS surfaces in the IGES file format, press the [Create
Object] button on the bottom of the panel. The software will combine NURBS surfaces into
a new object for exporting, which will appear in the Object Tree Window.

Step 5: Inspection
Compare the NURBS surfaces and the triangle-meshed object. First, set the Times of Grids
to 4, and press the [Update] button to change the resolution of NURBS surfaces. You may
set the Times of Grids higher if increased accuracy is needed. Press the [Perform
Inspection] button to check the deviation between the NURBS surfaces and the triangle-
meshed object. Adjust the value of given parameters to update the color mapping on the
surface.

End of Tutorial

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