Unit -III

Geometric Modeling
 Geometric Modeling
* Geometric modelling refers to a set of techniques concerned mainly with
developing efficient representations of geometric aspects of a design process
in the computer database and developing the image of an object on the
graphics screen.

* It is defined as the complete representation of an object with graphical and

non graphical information.

* It generates the mathematical description of the geometry and non geometry

of an object on the screen.
In geometric modelling the image of an object created on graphics screen by inputting three
types of commands to the computer.
1) Basic Entities such as :- points, lines, circles.
2) Second commands accomplish the transformations of these elements.
3) Third type of commands causes the various graphic elements to be joined into desired
shape of the object.

• User construct a geometric model of an object by inputting the data through input
devices. Software then converts such data into mathematical representation and
stores in database, model which is stored in database can be used for analysis,
modification.
• Therefore, geometric modelling is a fundamental part of all CAD tools- FEM,
CATIA, PRO-E, ANSYS.
 Features of GM
1. Any data related to the object can be stored in the model. Thus the model is the true

replica of an object.

2. As the model is stored in the mathematical form, the model modification can carried

out by the operation like: move, rotate, scale, mirror, union etc.

3. Geometric model can be used to evaluate the various properties of an object such as

mass, volume, moment of inertia etc.

4. A geometric model can be automatically converted in different views.

5. A Geometric model can be used by finite element analysis to perform different types of

analysis, such as stress-strain analysis, kinematic analysis, dynamic analysis, thermal

analysis etc.

6. A geometric model can be used by the CAM software to generates a complete tool path

required for the computer aided manufacturing.

 Requirements of Geometric Modelling
The functions that are expected of geometric modelling are:
Design Analysis Drafting
• Evaluation of Areas and Volumes • Automatic planar cross sectioning
• Evaluation of mass and inertia properties • Automatic hidden line and surface
• Interference checking in assemblies removal
• Automatic mesh generation for FEA • Automatic production of shaded images
• Analysis of tolerance build-up in • Automatic dimensioning
assemblies • Automatic creation of exploded views for
• Analysis of kinematics – mechanics, technical illustration
robotics Production Engineering
Manufacturing • Bill of materials
• Parts classification • Material requirement
• Process planning • Manufacturing resource requirement
• Numerical control data generation and • Scheduling
verification
• Robot program generation
Inspection and Quality Control
• Program generation for inspection machines
• Comparison of produced part with design
 Geometric Models
– 2D

applications: simple turning jobs, sheet metal punching, laser cutting.

– 3D

applications: all manufacturing applications.

The line model (wire frame models): In this method the complete object is
represented by number of lines, points, arcs & curves and their
connectivity relationships.

The surface model: The surface model is constructed essentially from

surfaces such as planes, rotated curved surfaces & even very complex
synthetic surfaces. Surface creation on existing CAD system usually
requires wireframe entities as a start. Surface & wireframe form the core
of all existing CAD system.

The solid or volume model: Solid model of an object is a more complete

representation than surface model, as all the information required for
engineering analysis & manufacturing can be obtained with this
technique.
Comparison of the different modelling methods
 Wire-frame Modelling

• It is the oldest method of geometric modeling.

• In wire frame modelling a geometric model of an object is created by

using the two dimensional geometric entities such as: points, lines,
curves, polygon, circles etc.

• The model appears like a frame constructed out of wire and hence
called as wire-frame model.

• Wireframe representation of 3d consist finite set of point, vertices and

connecting edges.
Types of wire frame
1. 2D wire frame modeling.- model basically in 2D coordinates.

2. 3D wire frame modeling.- it is used for 3D representation of object consists of a

finite set of points & connecting edges which define object visualization.

Advantages of wire frame modeling

1. Wire frame model is simple to construct.

2. Wire frame models requires less computer memory for storage compared to
surface and solid modeling.

3. Wire frame model form the basis for surface model.

4. CPU time require to retrieve, edit or update the wire frame model is less
compared to surface.
 Limitations of wire frame modeling

1. A wire frame model of an object is more ambiguous representation than its

surface and solid models.
2. It is difficult and time consuming process to generate the wire frame model for
complicated objects.
3. The wire frame models of the complicated objects are confusing to the viewer
for interpretation, especially if there is no hidden line removal facility.
4. It require more input data – include coordinate, face, depth, edge connectivity.
5. It is not possible to calculate the properties such as mass, volume, moment
of inertia etc.
6. Because of the confusing representation, wire frame model is not used for the
application software.
 Types of wire frame curves
1.Analytical curves .- Curves which are defined by the analytical equation are known as
analytic curve. e.g. Lines,circles,ellipse,parabolas and hyperbola

• provide very compact forms to represent shapes & simplify the computation of related
properties such as areas & volume.

• Analytic curves are usually not sufficient to meet today’s geometric design requirements of
complex mechanical parts like automobile bodies, aero plane wings, propeller blades, bottles
etc.

2. Synthetic curves.- The curves which are defined by the set of data points are known as
synthetic curves. e.g. B-spline, beta- spline, nu- spline and Bezier curves.

• Synthetic curves provide designers with greater flexibility & control of a curve shape by
changing the positions of the one or more data points or control points.
Wire Frame Entities
 Synthetic curves
The need for synthetic curves in design arises on two occasions:

1. When a curve is represented by a collection of measured data points (in case of Reverse
Engineering).

2. When an existing curve must change to meet new design requirements.

Synthetic Curve Construction Techniques :

1. Interpolation technique (Curve passes through the data points) Ex. : Cubic Spline

2. Approximation technique (Curve do not passes through the data points) Ex. : Bezier Curve

Mathematically, synthetic curves represent a Curve-fitting problem to construct a smooth curve

 Mathematical representation of Curves
• Curve is represented by coordinates or by its analytical equation.
Curves can be represented mathematically by
 Non-parametric equation
i. Explicit form: If the co-ordinates ‘y’ & ‘z’ of a point on the curve are expressed as two
separate functions of the third coordinate ‘x’ <independent variable>. This curve
representation is known as Non-parametric Explicit form. Position vector of a point ‘P’
on the curve = P = [x y z]T= [x f(x) g(x) ]T

ii. Implicit form: If the co-ordinates ‘x’, ‘y’ & ‘z’ are related together by two functions, a
non-parametric implicit form results.
f1 (x,y,z) = 0 and f2 (x,y,z) = 0
 Parametric equation
– In parametric form, each point on a curve is expressed as a function of a parameter
“u”. This parameter acts as a local co-ordinate for points on the curve.
– Position vector of a point ‘P’ on the curve = P(u) = [x(u) y(u) z(u) ]T
– The parametric curve is bounded by two parametric variable values umin and umax.
Where, umin ≤ u ≤ umax
Advantages of Parametric Representation of Curves

• Parametric geometry can be easily expressed in terms of vectors & matrices which enables the
use of simple computation techniques to solve complex analytic geometry problem.

• In case of commonly used curves (such as circle, conics), these equations are polynomials
rather than equations involving roots. Hence, the parametric form is not only more general but
it is also well suited to computation in geometric modeling.

• Blending is used to construct composite curve. Blending of two curves implies the joining of
two curves subjected to the satisfaction of continuity condition.

• Various Continuity requirements can be specified at data points to impose various degrees of
smoothness of the resulting curve.

• The order of continuity becomes important when a complex curve is modeled by several
curve segments pieced together end-to-end.

• To check whether a given point lies on the curve or not, reduces to finding the corresponding
‘u’ values & checking whether that value lies in the stated ‘u’ range.
Parametric representation of Curves
A curve segment is a point bounded collection of points whose coordinates
are given by continuous, one-parameter, single-valued mathematical
functions of the form.
x = x(u) y = y(u) z = z(u)
The parametric value of u is constrained to the interval u Є [0,1]. The curve is
bounded between two points at u=0 and the other at u=1.
Any point on the curve can be treated as a component of vector p(u). This p(u)
is the vector to the point x(u), y(u), z(u) and pu(u) is the tangent vector to the
curve at the same point. here
 GEOMETRIC CONTINUITY
CONDITIONS
• zero- order geometric continuity, described as G0 or C0
continuity, is the same as zero- order parametric continuity. That
is, the two curves sections must have the same coordinate
position at the boundary point.
• Position Continuous curve
 GEOMETRIC CONTINUITY
CONDITIONS
• First order geometric continuity, or G1 or C1 continuity, means
that the parametric first derivatives are proportional at the
intersection on two successive sections. If we denote the
parametric position on the curve as P(u), the direction of the
tangent vector P'(u), but not necessarily its magnitude, will be
the same for two successive curve sections at their joining point
under G1 continuity.
• Slope Continuous curve
 GEOMETRIC CONTINUITY
CONDITIONS
• Second-order geometric continuity, or G2 or C2 continuity,
means that both the first and second parametric derivatives
of the two curve sections are proportional at their boundary.
Under G2 continuity, curvatures of two curve sections will match
at the joining position.
• Curvature Continuous curve
•
Cubic Splines
A Spline is a piecewise parametric representation of the geometry of a curve
with a specified order of continuity.
• Cubic splines use a parametric equations of 3rd degree with the first order
continuity maintained at the intersection point of the curve. Cubic splines use
cubic polynomial.
• Given a set of control points, cubic interpolation splines are obtained by fitting
the input points with a piecewise cubic polynomial curve that passes through
every control point.
• Cubic polynomials offer a reasonable compromise between flexibility and
speed of computation.
• Compared to higher – order polynomials, cubic splines require less
calculations and memory and they are more stable.
• Compared to lower-order polynomials, cubic splines are more flexible for
modeling arbitrary curve shapes.
A cubic interpolation fit is illustrated in figure below. We can describe the
parametric cubic polynomial that is to be fitted between each pair of control
points with the following set of equations:
Cubic polynomial has four coefficients & thus requires four conditions to evaluate .
 BEZIER CURVES
 Bezier curve and surfaces are created by Pierre Bezier at Renault automobile
company. Which is used in software system UNISURF for outer panels of car
surfaces.
 This spline is developed using approximation method.
 It is not convenient to change the shape of hermite cubic splines, the shape of bezier
curve controlled by defining its point.
 bezier curve is used to provide more flexibility for changing the shape of curve, where
the order or degree of bezier curve is variable which relate with no of points defining
nth degree which permit higher order continuity.
 BEZIER CURVES
 Bezier curve uses the given data point as control points. This control points form
control polygon but the curve pass through first and last point.
 In general, Bezier curve section can be fitted to any number of control points. The
number of control points to be approximated and their relative position determine
the degree of the Bezier polynomial.
 Smoother than cubic splines because it has higher order derivatives.
 Curve is tangent to first and last polygon segments.

 Bezier curve uses the vertices of Bezier Characteristic polygon (or control polygon) as
control points for approximating the generated curve. The curve will pass through the
first & last point with all other points acting as control points. The curve is also
always tangent to the first & last polygon segment.
Mathematically, for (n+1) control points, the Bezier curve is defined by polynomial of degree n:

Where P(u) is a point on the curve, Pi is a control point and Bi,n(u) are the Bernstein polynomials,
which are given by −

Where n is the polynomial degree, i is the index, and u is the variable. C(n,i) is the binomial
coefficient.
The simplest Bezier curve is the straight line from the point P0 to P1. A
quadratic Bezier curve is determined by three control points. A cubic Bezier
curve is determined by four control points.
 Characteristics of bezier curve
1. The Bezier curves does not use tangent/1st
derivatives vectors for controlling its
shape as in the case of Hermite cubic
spline. The shape of Bezier curve is
controlled by number of data points. This
gives flexibility in controlling the shape of
the curve.

2. The degree of Bezier curve is variable & is

related to the number of data points. The
Bezier with n+1 data points is defined by
the polynomial of nth degree. Higher order
gives higher order continuity and more
smoothness.
3. A closed Bezier curve can be generated by closing its characteristics
polygon i.e. choosing P0 and Pn to be coincident.
4. The Bezier curve is smoother than the cubic spline because it has higher
order derivative.
5. The order of defining the control points changes the polygon definition
which changes the curve shape .
6. The same curve would be generated, if the sequence of the points is changed
from P0– P1–P2–P3 to P3-P2-P1-P0.
 Bezier curve is considered as a single curve controlled by all the control
points. As a result, with an increase in the number of control points, the
degree of the polynomial representing the curve increases & this provides
for global modification effect rather than local.
 To reduce this complexity, the curve is broken down into more
segments with better control excised with individual segments, while
maintaining a simple continuity between the segments.
 B-SPLINE CURVES
• Single piecewise parametric polynomial curve through any number of control points
with the degree of polynomial selected by Designer.

• One of the problem associated with bezier curves is that, with the an increase in the
number of control points, the order of the polynomial representing the curve
increases. This makes the parametric equation complicated and increase the
computation.

• In order to overcome this drawback of Bezier curve, B-Spline curves are used.

• In contrast to Bezier curve, the theory of B-splines curve separates the order of
polynomial representing the curve from the number of the given control points.

• Four control points can always produce a cubic Bezier curve but four control points
can produce linear, quadratic or cubic B-spline curve.

• It provides the ability to add control points without increasing the degree of the
curve.
B-spline exhibit a local control of the curve shape i.e. whenever a single vertex is
moved, only those vertices around that will be affected while rest remains the same.

Global control: Changing the position of a data point or an end slope of a curve changes
the entire shape of the curve.
Local control: Changing the position of a data point or an end slope of a curve may
change shape locally in the region near to the control points.
 Mathematically, B-spline curve (approximation) defined by (n+1) control points
Pi is given by

Where umax = n-k+2

Where ‘k’ controls the degree (k-1) of the resulting polynomial & also continuity
of the curve.

B-spline curves have the ability to interpolate or approximate a set of given points
 Characteristic of B-splines
1. Local control of the curve can be achieved by changing the position of the control points

2. A non periodic B-spline curve passes through the first and last control points P0 and Pn+1
and is tangent to the first and last segments of the control polygon.

3. Increasing degree of the curve tightens it. In general the lesser the degree the closer the
curve gets to the control point.

4. If k = (n+1) then the resulting the B-spline curve becomes a Bezier curve. In this case
the range of u becomes 0 to 1.

5. Increasing the degree of the curve makes it more difficult to control and to calculate
accordingly. Hence a cubic B-spline curve is sufficient for large number of applications.
These are the most widely used class of approximating splines. B-Splines have advantages
over Bezier splines:
1. The flexibility in the degree of the resulting curve is achieved by choosing the
blending functions of the B-spline.
2. B-spline provide local control of the of the shape as opposed to global control by
using a special set of blending functions.
3. B-spline curves have the ability to interpolate or approximate a set of given
points.
4. Beside the local control, B-Spline curve allow us to vary the control points without
changing the degree of the polynomials.
5. B-Spline give better control. However, they are more complex as compared to
Bezier curves.
 Non-Uniform Rational B- Spline (NURB)
 NURB curves are generalization of the curve & surface theories.
 These are almost exclusively used by modern CAD-CAM-CAE systems to provide a unified
approach to formulate & represent curves and surfaces.
 NURB provide a convenient design tool to create smooth curves & surfaces interactively.
Rational Curve is defined by algebraic ratio of two polynomials while a non-rational curve is defined
by one polynomial.
Uniform B-splines: continuity is always one degree lower than the degree of each curve piece
Ex: Linear B-splines have C0 continuity, cubic have C2, etc

where wi is the weighting factor for each of the vertex.

Advantages:
 NURBS are considered a unified representation that can define both synthetic (like
Bezier, B-spline etc.) & analytic (i.e. circle, conics etc.) curves & surfaces. Any curve
or surface can be formulated using NURBS.
 It can represent all curves, surfaces, & solid entities, allowing unification &
conversion from one CAD system to another via exchange standards. Their related
algorithm are stable & accurate.
 This unified representation also have the advantage of reducing the database
complexity & the number of procedures required in CAD system for display &
manipulation of geometric entities.
Disadvantages
 Simple curves (like arcs, circles, conics) require more data to define as NURBS
than traditional way.
 The effective use of analytic & synthetic curves in a design environment depends
mainly on their manipulation.