Lecture [3] : Surface Modeling

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Surface model (Late 1980’s ):
Surface modeling is more sophisticated than wireframe modeling in that it defines not only the edges of a
3D object, but also its surfaces.

Surface modeling gives designers a great amount of control and flexibility.

Surface modeling entities

Analytic surfaces (plane surfaces, ruled surfaces, surface of revolution, tabulated surfaces)
Synthesis surfaces (parametric cubic surfaces, Bezier surfaces, B-spline surfaces, ….)
• Surface modeling is a widely used modeling technique in which objects are defined by their
bounding faces.
• Surface modeling systems contain definitions of surfaces, edges, and vertices
• Complex objects such as car or airplane body can not be achieved utilizing wireframe
modeling.

Surface modeling are used in

 calculating mass properties
 checking for interference between mating parts
 generating cross-section views
 generating finite elements meshes
 generating NC tool paths for continuous path machining
•All points on surface are defined
•useful for machining, visualization, etc.
•Surfaces have no thickness, objects have no volume or solid properties
•Surfaces may be open

Surface Model: An area bounded by an identifiable perimeter.

In Computer Graphics, is an area within which every position is defined by mathematical
method.
Surface may be:
 Planar
 Cylindrical/conic
 Sculptured or freeform in shape
Sculptured or Free Form Surfaces
 Quadratic Surfaces

 Sphere
x 2 + y 2 +z 2 = r 2
 Ellipsoid 2
2 2
x y z
+ + =1
rx ry rz
 Torus
2
2 2 2
x y z
r + + =1
rx ry rz
 Superellipsoid Surfaces s2
 Generalization of ellipsoid
 Control parameters s1 and s2
2 / s2 2 / s2 s2 / s1 2 / s1
x y z
+ + =1
rx ry rz s1

 If s1 = s2 =1 then regular ellipsoid

 Has an implicit and parametric form.
 Subdivision Surfaces

Coarse Mesh & Subdivision Rule

Define smooth surface as limit of sequence of algorithmic refinements
Modify topology & interpolate neighboring vertices
Used in graphics, animation and digital arts applications
 Surfaces Entities

1- Analytical surface entities

Plane surface

Ruled (lofted) surface

Tabulated cylinder

Surface of revolution
2- Synthesis surface entities
- Bezier surface - B-spline surface
Analytic Surface Representations:

Like a general analytic curve, general analytic surface can also be defined by
either an implicit or an explicit equation.

Implicit Equation
F(x, y, z) = 0
Its geometric meaning is that the locus of the points that satisfy the above constraint equation
defines the surface.

Example:
Right circular cylinder
•One vector gives a point on its axis
•One vector defines axis direction
•Scalar gives radius
Explicit Equation

where V is the position vector of a variable point on the surface. In this equation, the variable
point coordinates x, y, z are directly defined. The z coordinates of the position vector of
the variable points are defined by x and y through function f(x, y), as shown in Figure
Parametric Equation
The above equations illustrate that the points on a surface have two degrees of freedom
that are directly controlled by the x and y coordinates. There are no extra parameters in
these equations. Therefore, this type of surface representation is called nonparametric
representation.
The fact that the surface can be controlled by x and y coordinates, also means that two
parameters (e.g. s and t) can always be found as the controlling parameters as the
x and y coordinates do. Understandably, the equations that utilize this type of parameter
are called parametric equations and can be expressed as follows,

where X,Y, and Z are the functions of the two parameters, s and t.

P(u, v) =[ x y z ]T
P(u, v) =[ x(u, v) y (u, v) z (u, v)]

umin ≤u ≤umax
vmin ≤v ≤vmax
 Sample patch:
rectangular segment of
x, y plane
x = (c - a)u + a
y = (d - b)w + b
z=0

 Here:
 Curves of constant w are
horizontal lines.
 Curves of constant u are
Parametric and x,y coordinates of a plane
vertical lines.
 Parametric Representation of Analytical Surfaces

1- Plane Surface
The parametric equation of a plane defined by three points, P0, P1, and P2

P(u, v) = P0 +u ( P1 P0 ) +v( P2 P0 )
0 ≤u ≤1 0 ≤v ≤1
2- Ruled Surface
A ruled surface is generated by joining corresponding points on two space curves (rails) G(u)
and Q(u) by straight lines

• The parametric equation of a ruled surface defined by two rails is given as

P(u, v) = (1 v)G (u ) +vQ(u )

0 ≤u ≤1 0 ≤v ≤1
Holding the u value constant in the above equation produces the rulings in the v direction of
the surface, while holding the v value constant yields curves in the u direction.
3- Tabulated Cylinder
A tabulated cylinder has been defined as a surface that results from translating a space planar
curve along a given direction.

• The parametric equation of a tabulated cylinder is given as

0 ≤u ≤umax
P(u, v) =G(u ) +v n
0 ≤v ≤vmax

Where:
G(u) can be any wireframe entities
to form the cylinder

v is the cylinder length

n is the cylinder axis (defined by

two points)
4- Surface of Revolution
Surface of revolution is generated by rotating a planar curve in space about an axis at a certain
angle.
Swept Surface
 Mesh Generation

• Whenever the user requests the display of the surface with a mesh size m x n

 The u range is divided equally into (m-1) divisions and m values of u are
obtained.
 The v range is divided equally into (n-1) divisions and n values of v are obtained.
Synthetic Surface Representations

Hermite Bicubic Surface

As discussed before, synthetic curves are dealt with as curve segments in a single parameter
(e.g. s) domain.
Likewise, synthetic surfaces are defined in patches, each corresponding to a rectangular domain in
the s - t space. Hermite Bicubic Surface is one of the common types of synthetic surfaces used in
CAD systems. In mathematic terms, a Hermite Bicubic surface can be described using the
following cubic parametric equation,

Note that this is a 16-term, third-power series. Like Hermite bicubic curves, a Hermite
surface also requires the values of the tangent vectors at the corners of the surface.
Bézier Surface Patches
Mathematically, the only difference between a Hermite surface patch and a Bézier surface
patch is that different basis functions are used. As with the Bézier curve, the Bernstein
basis function is used for the Bézier surface patch.
Generally, the most common use of Bézier surfaces is as nets of bi-cubic patches. The
geometry of a single bi-cubic patch is thus completely defined by a set of 16 control points.
The cubic Bézier surface can then be expressed as,

Bézier patch meshes are superior to meshes of triangles as a representation of smooth

surfaces, since they are much more compact, easier to manipulate, and have much better
continuity properties. In addition, other common parametric surfaces such as spheres and
cylinders can be well approximated by relatively small numbers of cubic Bézier patches.
However, Bézier patch meshes are difficult to render directly. Another problem with Bézier
patches is that calculating their intersections with lines is difficult, making them awkward
for pure ray tracing or other direct geometric techniques which do not use subdivision or
successive approximation techniques. They are also difficult to combine directly with
perspective projection algorithms.
Uniform Cubic B-Spline Surfaces

Using a corresponding basis function, uniform cubic B-Spline surface can be formed and
has a net of control points that define the surface, none of which interpolate the patch, as
in the case of the B-spline curve. Likewise, an advantage of B-spline surface is that it supports
local control of the surface.
 Surface Manipulation

Various surface manipulation techniques are employed in CAD systems. The simplest and most widely used
method is to display a surface by a mesh of curves. This is usually called a mesh in the CAD software. By holding
one parameter constant at a time, a mesh of curves can be generated to represent the surface.
Shading of a surface is an effective way of rendering a design model and is available in many CAD systems.
Segmentation and trimming is a way of representing part of a surface with localised interests. Some
surfaces can present computational difficulties when split and partitioned.
Similar to segmentation and trimming, intersection is another useful function where curves
can be defined as a result of intersection.
Sometimes, projection is required by projecting an entity onto a plane or surface. When a curve or surface
is projected, the point projections are performed repeatedly. This function is often used in determining
shadows of entities.
As with the curve transformation, one can translate, rotate, mirror and scale a surface in most CAD
systems.
To transform a surface, the control points of the surface are evaluated and then transformed to new
positions and/or orientations. The new surface is then created according to the newly
transformed control points.