What's New for Designers

3

Modeling

In This Section:

• Direct Modeling Control Panel 24
• Diagnostic Shading 25
• Surfacing Tools 25
• Automatically Fit Quality NURBS Curves to Scan Lines 26
• Deviation Table 26
• Dynamic Section 27
• Break Curve at Inflections 28
• "Explicit control" in Birail, Square, Draft and Align 28
• Build From Corners in Square 29
• New Blend Curves Functionality 29
• Draft Properties Locator Shows Parting Lines 29
• Curve Curvature Improvements 30
• Faster "Visual" Option for Evaluation Lines 30
• "Knee Radius" Control for Circular Fillets 31
• Other Improvements 31

  Preferences > Interface > Tgl Control Panel

Direct Modeling Control Panel

For more information, see Using the Direct Modeling Control Panel in NURBS Modeling in Alias.

The direct modeling control panel provides quick access to tools and options commonly used in the workflow of technical surfacing:

• Export the current model to EvalViewer with one button.

• Keep commonly used tools in the built-in shelf area as a compact alternative to the shelf window.

• Use the Pick List pop-up menu to quickly select one object to work on from all the picked objects.

• Use the name field to quickly rename objects without having to open the Information window.

• Use the rebuild text boxes to easily change the degree and number of spans of the selected object, and see the deviation caused by the change in the prompt line.

• Show and hide CVs and hulls, isoparms, and commonly used locators from the Display section without having to use menu commands or tools.

• View and work on the shaded model interactively using the diagnostic shading options.

• Use the Surfacing Tools in the control panel to move CVs, show deviation between scan data and surfaces, and show cross-sections and curvature combs.

The direct modeling control panel is standard in AutoStudio, and is also available as a purchasable option.

Diagnostic Shading

For more information, see Using Diagnostic Shading in NURBS Modeling in Alias.

These options in the direct modeling control panel let you work with fast shaded geometry instead of wireframes. The different types of shading give different diagnostic information about your surfaces.

The shading modes use highly optimized, high performance routines to allow you to interactively model with shaded geometry.

• Single and Random color modes allow you to view a shaded model and visualize surfaces, with control over specular intensity, light intensity, and tessellation tolerance.

• The Advanced Evaluation shaders add interactive highlights (zebra stripes), curvature and draft angle color maps, and standard or user-specified reflection maps.

The transparency control helps you visualize the entire model as you tumble the camera, and allows you to see through shaded surfaces to pick obscured features such as CVs.

Surfacing Tools

These tools are located at the bottom of the direct modeling control panel:

• Use the Move CV tool to move CVs and hulls in world space or in the parameter space of the surface. This tool combines the functions of Move and Move CV normal.

For more information, see Moving CVs in NURBS Modeling in Alias.

• Use the Show deviation tool to display deviation combs and label minimum, maximum, and mean deviation points between curves and surfaces.

For more information, see Measuring Scan Data to Surface Deviation in NURBS Modeling in Alias.

• The Show Cross-sections tool displays options in the control panel for controlling how cross-sections are displayed on surfaces.

For more information, see Viewing Cross Sections on a Surface in NURBS Modeling in Alias.

• The Show Curvature tool displays options in the control panel for controlling how curvature combs are displayed.

For more information, see Working with Curvature Combs in NURBS Modeling in Alias.

Curves > Fit curve

Automatically Fit Quality NURBS Curves to Scan Lines

For more information, see Fitting a Curve to a Cross- section Line in NURBS Modeling in Alias.

The Curve Fit tool automatically fits quality curves to scanned line data. You can interactively specify the degree and number of spans, use the options in the Fit Curve Control window to control the fit, and see deviation and curvature feedback on the new curve.

Windows > Information > Deviation Table

Deviation Table

For more information, see Examining Deviation Values in NURBS Modeling in Alias.

The deviation table shows detailed, numeric deviation values from a locator. You can then scroll through the values, filter ranges, and save the data in ASCII format for further analysis. Use the deviation table to precisely localize and isolate deviations from your tolerance.

Evaluate > Dynamic section

Dynamic Section

For more information, see Viewing a Dynamic Cross- Section in NURBS Modeling in Alias.

The Dynamic cross-section tool lets you create cross-section curves by dragging a sectioning plane through surfaces.

With the Dynamic cross-section tool you can:

• Watch the cross-section change interactively as you drag through the surfaces of the model.

• "Snapshot" stationary cross-section lines.

• Show curvature on the cross-section.

• Show one or multiple cross-sections.

Curve Edit > Break curve at inflections

Break Curve at Inflections

For more information, see Detaching a Curve at the Points of Inflection in NURBS Modeling in Alias.

The Break curve at intersections tool automatically detaches a curve at all the inflection points along the curve.

This feature is ideal for model management when transferring data to CAD systems that cannot handle curves with inflections.

Surfaces > Swept surfaces> Birail, Surfaces > Boundary surfaces > Square,
Surfaces > Draft,
Object Edit > Align

"Explicit control" in Birail, Square, Draft and Align

Use the explicit controls in the Birail, Square, Draft and Align tools for manual control over how the surface is built to maintain continuity.

For more information, see Sweeping a Curve Along Two Paths with Birail and Building from Four Boundary Curves with Continuity in NURBS Modeling in Alias.

• In the Birail and Square control windows, turn on the Explicit Control option to show the Surface Degree Controls section.

For more information, see Using Draft, Flange and Collar in NURBS Modeling in Alias.

• In the Draft option box, turn on the Explicit Control option to display the Degree and Spans fields.

For more information, see Aligning Curves and Surfaces in NURBS Modeling in Alias.

• In the Align control window, choose Explicit from the Position menu.

Surfaces > Boundary surfaces > Square

Build From Corners in Square

For more information, see Building from Four Boundary Curves with Continuity in NURBS Modeling in Alias.

In the Square tool, you can now snap point locators to use as corners in addition to picking boundary curves. Whenever the prompt line asks for a boundary curve, you can use curve snapping to create a corner instead. This is very useful for the "direct modeling" approach to reverse engineering.

You can use one corner and two curves, two corners and one curve, or four corners.

While using the Square tool, you can move the corner manipulators, and the surface will update.

Curves > Blend curve toolbox

New Blend Curves Functionality

For more information, see Blend Curves in NURBS Modeling in Alias.

Blend curves feature two new improvements:

• Blend curves now use more descriptive icons for constraints on blend curves:

  Type	Not attached	Attached to blend curve	Attached to regular curve
  Location
  Direction

• Use the new Blend pt make master tool to reverse the master/slave relationship between attached blend curves.

Locators > Deviation measures > Draft properties

Draft Properties Locator Shows Parting Lines

For more information, see Adding a Draft Angle Measurement in NURBS Modeling in Alias.

The Draft properties tool can now show or create geometry for parting lines:

• Turn on the Show Parting Line option to automatically create curves-on-surface for the parting lines.

• Turn on the Visual option to use faster, display-only visual lines instead of curves-on-surface.

Locators > Curve curvature

Curve Curvature Improvements

For more information, see Adding a Curvature Measurement to a Curve in NURBS Modeling in Alias.

The Curve curvature tool features several major improvements:

• The Curve curvature tool now creates a "real" locator instead of a temporary display.

• The curvature comb now indicates inflection points with blue arrows.

• The curvature comb now shows ranges of values using different colors. You can set the ranges in the Information window.

Faster "Visual" Option for Evaluation Lines

The Surface evaluate, Draft properties, and Cross-sections tools can now use much faster, display-only polylines instead of creating and updating geometry:

Evaluate > Surface evaluate

• The Surface evaluate tool can show visual lines instead of creating curves-on-surface.

In the options window, turn on the Visual option.

Locators > Deviation measures > Draft properties

• The Draft properties tool can show visual lines instead of creating curves-on-surface for parting lines.

In the options window, turn on the Visual option.

Control Panel > Cross-sections

• The Cross-sections tool in the control panel can show visual lines instead of creating curves-on-surface.

In the options that appear in the panel when you click the tool, set Geometry to Visual.

Surfaces > Fillet surfaces > Fillet

"Knee Radius" Control for Circular Fillets

For more information, see Creating a Fillet Between Surfaces in NURBS Modeling in Alias.

Circular fillets (for both curves and surfaces) have a new Knee Ratio option in their control window that allows you to specify a radius at the center (or "knee") of the fillet as a ratio (or multiple) of the original radius.

The resulting fillet will not be truly circular, but its edges (or end points) will correspond to those of a circular fillet with the original radius.

Other Improvements

Evaluate > Continuity > Surface continuity

Surface Continuity Creates Locator

For more information, see Checking Continuity Between and Within Surfaces in NURBS Modeling in Alias.

• The Surface continuity tool can now create a persistent locator.

• Additional display options have also been added in the tool's control window:

Surface Edit >
Create curves on surface > Project

Automatically Select Trim After Project

The Project tool now has an option to automatically select the Trim tool after the project operation.

• In the Project option window, turn on Invoke Trim Automatically.

• Choose whether to select the Trim tool in Trim or Divide mode.

Surfaces > Draft

New Options for Draft/Collar Surfaces

For more information, see Using Draft, Flange and Collar in NURBS Modeling in Alias.

The Collar tool (an option of Surfaces > Draft) now uses its own set of tolerances to determine positional and tangent continuity for the curves on surface that are used as input. (Previously, the tool used tolerances from the Construction options).