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Surface Quality and Analysis

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 The quality or smoothness of a surfaces greatly influences the look and in some cases functionality of a product.

In this section we will explain the basic concepts related to the quality of surfaces and elaborate the terms like "radius of curvature" and "curvature continuity" . We will also learn to use the tools offered by Creo Parametric to analyze the surfaces.




Curve Quality

Most of the surfaces are built around datum curves. So quality of surface directly depends upon the quality of curves.

In this section, there are several exercises elaborating how to

  • Analyze a curve using Radius and Curvature analysis tools
  • Understand the difference between curvature continuous and discontinuous curves.
  • Modify it a curve make it curvature continuous.
  • Ttransform the copied curves to a curvature continuous curve


 

  

 

A curvature discontinuous curve

A curvature continuous curve

 

Surface Quality

The quality of a surface is determined by the quality of individual surface patches and their connection with each other. A surface analysis is usually performed after curve analysis to check the quality of the surface.

In this section, there are several exercises elaborating how to

  • Analyze a curve using Radius and Curvature analysis tools
  • Analyze a surface for continuity using Reflection analysis tool
  • Analyze a surface using Curvature analysis tool
  • Analyze a quilt with Dihedral Angle tool to determine the level of tangency.
  • Analyze the Gaussian curvature of a surface
  • Analyze the Gaussian curvature of a surface
  • Analyze a surface to determine if it has sufficient draft by using Draft Check tool.



  
Reflection Analysis

Singularity

A singularity is created when gridlines of a surface concentrate to a single point

Surfaces with singularities are considered to be of poor quality and make the offset, thicken or shell operation very difficult. Furthermore surfaces with singularities are unstable during regeneration.

In this section, we will build two surface models elaborating how to avoid the singularity problems.

 




  
A quilt with singularity


A quilt without singularity


A helmet model without singularity



Helmet surfaces meshed: No Singularity exists
   

 

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