How to approximate curves with lines and arcs:
- Select Construct tab > Curves panel > From Curves > Smooth/Reduce Curve to display the
Smooth/Reduce Curve dialog.
- Select a curve from the
Curve list or in the graphics window.
- Select
Arc/line approximation.
- Deselect
Chain arcs/lines.
- Enter a
Tolerance. This number indicates how closely the arcs and lines come to the original data. If you created the curve initially, try to use a tolerance that is larger than you used to create the curve.
- Click the
Preview button.
- The data reduction % value is displayed which shows you how much less data the arcs and lines require than the original curve.
- If the
Tolerance value results in a curve which has more data than the original, a warning dialog is displayed. To reduce the amount of data in the new curve, increase the tolerance, but this is not essential if you want to use this tolerance value.
- Select the
Show preview surface then click
Preview to display a preview of a surface extruded from the new curve. You can shade this surface to verify the quality of the curve.
- Click
OK.