WEEK –3 (Hours 9-12)

Shape Design Toolbox

Selection
- 01 – Freestyle - use this to access the tools for creating freeform surface
geometry that incorporates artistic styling tools.
- 02 – Sketch tracer – use this to build sketches off of point or line data.
- 03 – Digitized shape editor – use this tool to build advanced surface
geometry from point clouds and scanned data.
- 04 – Generative Shape Design – use this tool to create and modify
advanced surface geometry.
- 05 – Quick Surface Reconstruction – use these tools to modify existing
surfaces. Also used with point clouds.

HOUR 9-10 – Discuss tools in the shape design toolbox.

01 – Freestyle – the free style toolbox is a collection of advanced surface tools. There are
several focus areas in freestyle surfacing. One is Surface Creation another is Surface
Modification. As shown below Curve creation is also an important area of freestyle
shape creation. Lets look at curve creation first and then work through the others.

The tools for curve creation are displayed below. The options are described in order
starting with 3D curve.
01 – 3D Curve – This curve creation tool is used in the 3D workspace and will create
Spline like curves on the active compass plane. Indicated in the toolbar shown as the
highlighted XY axis. To work off of a different plane simply select the appropriate axis
icon or work off of a plane you create on the fly or one that exists in the model.

The example on the next page was created on the xy plane simply by indicating in the
space window the location of the Five points shown and the current end point will not be
determined until the operator hits the OK button
Note the option is available for the insertion of point locations in the curve building
process. By selecting the points handling icons you may add or delete points as well as
forcing a constraint onto a specific point.

Also shown below is an example of how the compass plane can be set to an existing
entity. (Ie the plane is selected and the compass rotates onto the plane) Use View Reset
compass to reset the compass to system reference position.
02 – Curve on surface. – This tool is used to create advanced curves on existing surface
geometry. Designed to simply allow the selection of locations on the surface entity and a
curve will result. Shown below the creation type is set to Point by point under this
selection is the isoparameter selection which will build the curve on one of the surfaces U
or V direction. Note for the curve in read the theoretical corner geometry is displayed
during the creation process.

03 – Project Curve – use this tool to project existing curves onto surface entities. Note
that the designer has control over whether or not the curve is projected normal to the
surface or based on the compass direction.
04 – Blend Curve - use this command to create a 3D curve that connects two existing
curve entities with a smooth tangent curve blend. Note the text label on the new curve
that will switch from curvature to point and finally to tangency as selected by the
operator. This will change on the fly the appearance of the blend curve until OK is
selected.

04 – Styling Corner – use this command to build fillet corners between planer 3D curve
entities. Note the options for radius value and the ability for the designer to trim or not.
These abilities allow the operator to build appropriate data on the fly. Note the option
presented for single segment, which will allow for an inverted blend at the radius.
05 – Match Curve – under construction

Surface Creation toolbox (under Shape - Freestyle) here we have several very powerful
surface creation tools. Displayed below are the Surface commands available.

01 – Planer Patch – use this tool to create a planer surface. On the fly the operator will
indicate the first corner of the patch surface pulling the cursor away in any direction the
system will create a patch surface (seen in red below) until the indicate is made again.
Note on the Quick Compass orientation toolbar the ability to select yz for example this
would allow for surface creation on the yz plane.
02 – Three Point Patch – select three points in space to define a planer surface. Points
one and two are selected by either indicating on the work area or by selecting existing
point geometry in the work area. The third point will determine the extremity of the
surface. In this example the operator will select the lower corners of the curved surface
and then the point at 0,0,0. As in planer patch the orientation of the compass will
determine the plane of the three-point patch surface.

03 - Four Point patch – as in the three point patch this surface creation command can
use existing geometry to locate four corners of a planer surface. Using the example 2
model we will simply pick four corners locations. Below three locations have been
selected one more will create the surface. Note the points do not need to be planer.
04 - Geometry Extraction – This tool allows the designer to cut out patches of an
existing surface entity by simply selecting a location on the surface an drawing the cursor
along the existing surface until he / she has the required portion extracted. At this point
the system will create a segment patch on the original surface in the shape shown.

05 – Extrude Surface – works very much like the Wireframe and surfaces option but
offers quite a bit more flexibility to the operator and with easier creation requirements.
This freestyle extrude allows the operator to take advantage of the Compass.
06 – Revolve - is used as in Wireframe and Surfacing tool box to rotate profile geometry
about an axis. The designer creates the profile shape and the axis of rotation and then
inputs the angle value. Note that the open edge of the surface can be selected in the
creation process and pulled to the appropriate position.

07 – Offset – used in Wireframe and Surfacing toolbox with simple offset amounts and
direction, this extension of the offset option in freestyle gives many additional features
that include a preview of the result prior to acceptance by the designer.
08 – Extrapolate – works similarly to Wireframe and Surfacing with more flexibility by
allowing the designer to apply tangency or curvature to the extrapolation.

09 – Blend (freestyle) this blend creating option is similar to previous versions yet allows
for on the fly adjustments to the controlling features of any blend. (tangency) The
designer will select icons shown on the isoparms of the surface that change the feature
controlling that point on the new surface. Below we are controlling by tangency.
10 – Fill – freestyle fill does essentially the same thing as fill in Wireframe and surfaces.
The difference is the ability to apply curvature or point characteristics to the resultant
surface during the build process. Selecting on the box that reads tangent will change the
control condition at that location to point.

HOUR 11-12 – Build basic shape design surfaces from examples (as time permits)
WEEK 4 (Hours 13-16)
HOUR 13-14
– Review
– Reinforce design process from week 3.
– Finish with the Shape Freestyle options shown below.

This set of commands (shown below) are used for surface manipulation.

01 – Symmetry – used to create a symmetrically opposite version of the selected

element. Simply select the element to sym and then a plane entity that defines the mirror
plane. Here we have the green surface and the highlighted plane and the result is shown
as the white surface.
02 – Control points is a powerful tool that allows the operator to modify an existing
surface by creating a pull on one of the surface control points. Note the grid pattern on
the model with shows the operator all of the distinguishing features of the part and allows
he / she to Adjust surface shape. Note the option for symmetry which where possible will
apply the same surface adjustment to symmetrical points.

03 – Match Surface – this is a tool similar to the blend surface commands we have seen
but here the system will create a match using (by modifying) one of the selected surface
entities and conforming it to a new surface that meets all selected criteria as shown.
04 – Multi sided match surface – used to modify the selected surface into a match with
any other selected surfaces as specified by the selection process. Start by selecting an
edge of the yellow central surface and the corresponding edge on green. Select all
necessary edges on yellow and green and the yellow surface will change to match the
others.

05 – Fit to geometry – used with existing point cloud geometry and planer surface
geometry. This operation will project the shape of the surface down onto the point cloud.
06 – Global deformation – Using this tool the designer has the ability to select a set of
surfaces and perform a modification to them based on the control points or based on the
orientation as it relates to the compass.

Once selected the control point selection entities show on the part allowing the operator
to change the part shape. As shown below. Select the free points and move as required.
Note on the image above the options showing axis (compass) or control points.
Also note in the control points options shown below the numerous added specific
modification options.
07 – Extend – use this tool to extend by a percentage the edge of a surface. Simply select
the edge and pull or type in a value for the percentage of the required extension.

Shown below the edge of the part has been pulled outward to create a new modified
surface entity.
SOME ADDITIONAL FREESTYLE SHAPE COMMANDS

01- Dress-up – the ability to change the appearance of the surface by adding segment
lines or Control points.

These two icons represent the toolbar picks for dress-up and for
removing the dress-up.

Use the segmentation option and select all three surfaces as shown above. The
result shown below is the dressed up surface visualization.