Chapter 2

Descriptive Geometry:
The technique of representing three dimensional forms in two-dimensional space by means of
engineering drawing is formally known as descriptive geometry.

 This can be done both on paper or on a computer screen

History:

 Parallel projection to create an image of geometry of a structure was known in Roman

times
 Projection into multiple planes was practiced in the Middle Age
 Rationale of technique has been developerd by Gaspar Monge

Contribution of Gaspar Monge:

 Formalized the method of representing shape by projecting views of an object into two
mutual perpendicular planes
o Elevations were drawn on vertical plane
o Plans were drawn on horizontal plane
 Essence of this projection is still applied
o Three-dimensional forms are represented in two dimensions by mapping points
on the object into multiple mutually perpendicular planes of projection
o This is done by using parallel projectors that are normal to the planes of
projection
o Projection: Point—Edge—Surface
o Projection into two-dimensional space is obtained by unfolding multiple
perpendicular planes of projection into a single plane
 Projection planes are related in a formal manner

Convention in Engineering Drawing:

 Different line-styles have different meanings on a drawing

o Dashed lines- Hidden from view
o Chain-dashed lines- Axis of symmetry
 Internal form of the shape is described in detail by sectional view
o Here, part of the object is imagined to be removed to show internal detail
 Dimensions are not directly measured from drawing geometry
 o They are identified using a symbolic representation which allows incorporation
of-
 Tolerance
 Surface Condition Information
 Symbolic representation as a form is extensively used to allow avoidance of repetitive
drawing of complex shapes such as threads and gears
 2 principal conventions regarding how views should be related to each other on
drawing-
o Third Angle Projection
o First Angle Projection

Third Angle Projection:

Projection plane is between the object and the viewer

 Widely adopted in North America & UK

First Angle Projection:

Projection plane is behind the part with respect to viewer

 More common in continental Europe

Pictorial Projection:

Projection into a single plane that is not in general aligned with any of the main faces of an
object is known as pictorial projection.
Perspective Projection:

 Needed where visual impression is important

 Assists in interpretation of the drawing
 Used in representation of buildings or large engineering products
Strength of Conventional Representation:

 Practically, any product can be represented

 Diagrams can virtually represent any system
 Established syntaxes makes standards easily understandable to all

Weakness of Conventional Representation:

 Skill required for construction and interpretation of drawing

 Possibility of conflicting or erroneous models
 Sometimes cannot deal with complexity in products

Extraction of Information from Drawings & Diagrams:

 Main model representation of design is used to generate further models for assessment
and generation of manufacturing information
 Generation of new models requires the engineer to identify visually the information
required from a drawing or diagram
 Drawings are easily misread
 Whenever there is a transcription from a drawing to extract information, there is a risk
of error or misinterpretation

Computer-aided Draughting:

 Similar to normal draughting

 Same standards used
 Drawing is collection of points, lines, arcs, conic sections and other curves in 2-D plane
 In manual drawing, size of representation is constrained by physical size of the drawing
sheet
 No such constraints in CAD
 Model constructed by a set of computational procedures
 Model limited only by constraints on the size of numbers that can be effectively stored
and manipulated by the computer
 Therefore, CAD drawings should be constructed at full size
 Scale of reproduction is important only in reproduction of drawing on computer screen
or hard copy

Advantage:

 Provides rich variety of techniques for the definition of geometric entities

o For example: a circle can be drawn in many techniques
  Facility of point generation
o Can be point entity or implied points related to other entities and intersections
 Some provide grid patterns to assist construction
 Some allow new geometry entities to be constructed from existing curves
o Fillet arcs
 Precision of geometry
 Construction at full size
 Risk of error in creation and interrogation of CAD drawing is lower than manual drawing

Entity:

Single geometric elements are known as entity

 Normally defined by the system in terms of numeric values for their point coordinate or
other data

Three-Dimensional Modelling Schemes:

 Single representation avoids error that might occur in multiple views

 More useful in extracting information for analysis and manufacturing
 Models constructed in a three-dimensional right handed co-ordinate system

Terminologies:

Global Co-ordinate System (GCS):

Fixed co-ordinate system which is used for overall definition of the model, is known as global
co-ordinate system.

Work Co-ordinate System (WCS):

Movable coordinate system that might be used to assist in model construction is known as
work coordinate system.

 Concepts associated with it-

o Work plane
o Working Depth

Primitive:

Geometric entities which are normally instances of geometric forms are known as primitives.

 Their dimensions and orientations are instantiated for each entry in the representation
Example:

A circle whose dimensions would be instantiated to particular value of radius and coordinates

Wire-frame Geometry:

The scheme in which the geometry is defined as a series of lines and curves representing the
edges and sections of the object is known as wire-frame geometry

 First of the 3D schemes

 Computationally most straightforward
 Named for wire-like appearance when viewed on computer screen
 Regarded as extension into a third dimension of the techniques used for draughting
 Entities use are generally same as draughting
 Data stored to define the entities must be extended

Construction Techniques:

 Similar to draughting
 Movable WCS is used

Method of Defining Coordinate Systems:

1. Three Points
 Origin & X direction shown through 2 points
 Y-direction defined by the third point
2. Line & Point
 End points of the line define the origin and the x direction
 Y-direction defined by another point
3. Planar Entry
 Centre and 0 degree position on the entity defines the origin and x-direction
 Y-direction is identified by the 90 degree position
4. Planar Entry & Point
 Almost identical to planar entry
 Origin is denoted by an offset point

Working Depth:

 Sometimes planar entities are constructed at a z-axis value equal to working depth

Work Plane:
  Used for projected intersection and points

Advantage of Wire-frame Geometry:

 Relatively straightforward to use

 Most economical in terms of computer time and memory requirement

Application:

o Preliminary layout work

o Solving geometric problems
o Establishing overall spatial relationships for a design
o Cases where dynamic manipulation of display required

Disadvantages (In Modelling):

 Ambiguity in representation
 Possibility of nonsense objects
 Deficiency in pictorial representation
o Parallel projection make orientation of models difficult to interpret
o Complex models are difficult to interpret
o Complex models do not allow automatic viewing with hidden lines removed
o Silhouette edges may not normally be generated
o Depth cueing may help
 Limited ability in calculating mechanical properties or geometric intersections
 Limited value as a basis for manufacture or analysis

Depth Cueing:

Here lines further away from the viewer are displayed less intensely to give an impression of
the viewer

 Improves pictorial representation in wire-frame geometry.

Shapes applicable for Wire-frame Representation:

 Sheet metal components

 Turned/ Rotationally symmetric components

2.5D:

 For shapes that are not two-dimensional but neither require 3D representation
 Intermediate representation
  Subset of wire-frame scheme

Surface Representation Scheme:

The scheme that involves representing the model by specifying some or all of the surfaces on
the component is known as surface modeling/Surface representation scheme.

 Generally involves series of geometric entities

o Each surface forms a single entity

Types of Surfaces:

 Flat Plane
o Simplest
o Can be defined through-
 Two parallel lines
 Three points
 A line and a point
 st
1 Category
o Surfaces are fitted to control points
o Surface is generated to pass through or interpolate the points

Example: Bezier & B-spline surfaces

 2nd Category
o Surfaces are based on curves
o Surfaces may be imagined as forming skin on top of a wire-frame skeleton

Example:

o Tabulated Cylinder
 Defined by projecting a generating curve along a vector
o Ruled Surface
 Produced by linear interpolation between two different generating or
edge curves
o Surface of Revolution
 Produced by revolving a generating curve about a centre line or vector
o Swept Surface
 Extension of surface of revolution
 Curve is swept along an arbitrary spline curve
o Sculptured or Curve-Mesh Surface
 Most common
  Defined by grid of intersecting generating curves
 These curves form a patchwork of surface patches
 Example: Coons patch, Gordon Surface
 rd
3 Category
o Surfaces are defined to interpolate between other surfaces
o Example: Chamfer Surfaces, Fillet Surfaces

Control Points:

Arrays of data points to which surfaces are fitted in are called control points

 Real artefacts are represented using surface geometry by an assembly of surface

patches

Methods of Defining Multi-Surface Objects with Free-form Surfaces in Existing Commercial

Systems:

 To work initially in terms of a set of plane cross-sectional curves instead of all parallel
planes
o System skins or blends the cross-sections to give a smooth surface
o Done through-
 Guiding spline to define swept surfaces
 Lofting over a set of curves
o Surface often comprises of multiple connected surface patches
o Approach most appropriate for-
 Automotive engine parts
 Pump volutes

 To establish an array of points in space

o Two sets of intersecting curves are fitted through them
o Intersections occur at a number of these points
o A curvilinear mesh is formed
o Surface patches are then fitted to these curves

 To fit a surface directly to the point set

o No intermediate interpolating curves are generated
Real Engineering:

o Real engineering components are more complex

o Even in simple shapes, surfaces are not complete, rather parts of the elementary
surfaces
o Initially CAD was limited to modeling with bounded surface
o With the facility of Trim & Hole removal this problem has solved
o Surface modeling mainly used in places where surfaces are smoothly varying or
faired

Lofting:

The process in which a series of cross-sections are blended by smooth curves, often with the
help of a spline is known as lofting.

o Complex shapes are usually defined through it

o Weights were often used to fix points through which spline would pass
o Curves and sections were usually drawn to full size
o Usually such activities took place in company’s loft

Application:

o Automobile and Die Manufacturing

o Shoe Industry
o Garments Industry
o Pottery
o Glass-making

Advantage of Surface Modelling:

o Less ambiguity
o Excellent basis for generating manufacturing instructions
o Good for analysis
o Arbitrary complex forms may be precisely modeled
o Models may be distributed to all those in the product development process

Drawbacks of Surface Modelling:

o More computationally demanding

o Require greater skill for construction
o Complex shapes are difficult to interpret without removing the hidden surface
 o Nothing inherent present to prevent ambiguous or erroneous models
 Visual inspection required to identify physically impossible geometries
o No connectivity between surfaces
 If one surface changes, the designer needs to resolve its consequence
over other surfaces
o No indication of the part of the model that is solid
 Simply collection of surfaces
 No higher level information
o Some geometries are difficult to represent
 3 & 5 sided patches

Solid Modelling:

According to Requicha & Voelcker,

“An informationally complete representation would permit any well defined geometric
property of any represented solid to be calculated automatically”

o Extension from the use of essentially 1-dimensional or 2-dimensional entities to

the modeling of shape using three-dimensional solids.

Features of Successful Solid Modelling (By Woodwark):

o Complete and unambiguous

o Appropriate for real engineering objects
o Practical for use with existing computers

Methods of Solid Modelling:

o Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG/C-rep)

o Boundary Representation (B-rep/Graph based Method)

Constructive Solid Geometry:

The method in which models are constructed using combination of simple solid primitives is
known as constructive solid geometry method.

o Primitives- Cuboids, Cylinders, Spheres etc

o Also known as set-theoric modeling
 Named for the way primitives are combined using union, intersection and
difference- operators of set theory
Advantage:

o Very Compact
o Guarantee of modeling valid solids unambiguously
o Complex shapes may be developed relatively quickly with this method

Problems:

o Models are stored in unevaluated form

 Resultant edges and surfaces has to be computed when required
 Performance penalty is attained
o Calculation of intersection between surfaces of the primitives key computational
issue
 Range of geometric primitives is limited to planar and quadratic surfaces
mainly who have reasonably straight forward line/surface or
surface/surface intersection algorithm
 Geometric complexity rapidly leads to performance degradation
o Many features may be difficult to do in CSG like Fillet blend for forging or casting

Boundary Representation:
The scheme in which additional informations about-

o Connectivity between surfaces

o Identification of any solid face

Is added to surface models, it is known as boundary representation

o Some incorporate methods for checking topological consistency

o Check if models are not geometrically anomalous

Features of Geometric Consistency:

 Faces of model do not intersect each other except at common vertices or edges
 Boundaries of the faces are simple loops of edges that donot intersect
themselves
 Set of faces of the model close to form the complete skin of the model with no
missing parts
o The first two disallow self-intersecting objects and ensure 2-mainfold surfaces
o The third one intersects open objects

2-manifold Surface:

Surface in which every point on the surface has a full two-dimensional neighborhood of other
points on the surface is known to be 2-mainfold

 Every point is imagined to be surrounded by a disk of surfaces that can be unfolded flat

Polyhedral Model:

 Simplest form of boundary model

  Represents all faces as flat planes or facets
 Computationally straightforward
 Widely used
 Greater performance advantage
 Limited ability of modeling engineering shapes

Advantage:

 Information about edges and faces stored in evaluated form

 Information for application can be extracted directly from data structure
o Performance Advantage

Disadvantage:

 Large amount of data to be stored

 Require large data files