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Inserting a surface curve from wireframe

To insert curves from wireframe onto a surface:

  1. Select the surface.
  2. Click Surface Tools tab > Add panel > Items > Insert Curve.
  3. Use the Insert surface curve from wireframe dialog to specify the position of the curve:

    • Selection — select the wireframe curve you want to insert.

      The wireframe curve must have the same number of points and be in the same open/closed state as the laterals/longitudinals on the surface. The surface cannot contain a spine:

    • Reverse — select this option to reverse the direction of the wireframe curve.
    • Direction — select whether the new curve has a Lateral or Longitudinal surface direction from the Direction drop-down list.
    • Insert — specify the position of the wireframe on the surface. You can insert the wireframe Before, After or As the curve specified in the Curve option.
    • Note: The As option replaces the existing curve with the wireframe.
    • Curve — enter the number of the curve used by Insert.
    • Preview — displays the new curve in the surface from the selected wireframe object. You may change your wireframe object or settings on the dialog until you are satisfied with the previewed surface.
    • Apply — saves the surface. The dialog remains open for you to insert more wireframe objects into the surface.
  4. Click OK to save the surface and close the dialog.
Note: If your surface looks different from the one you expected, it could be that it changed when you inserted a lateral. In a Power surface, the interior of a patch is mathematically more complex (6th order) than the laterals and longitudinals. The laterals and longitudinals are composite cubic curves (3rd order). In general cases, it is impossible to represent a general parameter curve across the surface with these cubic curves. They can only be an approximation to the original surface. The tolerance is not relevant in this case. Any freedom is used to try to match positions at midpoints in the span. In other parts of the curve it may be well out of tolerance.

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