Curve Entities

All CAD/PLM software provide users with curve entities

Curve entities are divided into two categories,

Analytic
Points, lines, arcs, fillets, chamfers, and conics
(ellipses, parabolas, and hyperbolas)

Synthetic (freeform)
Includes various types of spline; Cubic spline, B-spline
and Bezier curve

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

Curve Entities
Methods utilized by CAD/CAM systems to create curve
Defining points

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Geometric modifiers

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

Curve Entities
Methods of defining points

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Geometric modifiers

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

Curve Entities
Methods of defining lines

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Mechanical Engineering Dept.

Curve Entities
Methods of defining lines

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

Curve Entities

Methods of defining circles

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

Creo

AutoCAD

SW

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

Curve Entities
Methods of defining ellipses and parabolas

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

AutoCAD
SW

Creo
Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

Conic Curves - Parabolas

Conic curves or conics are the curves formed by the intersection of a plane
with a right circular cone (parabola, hyperbola and sphere).
A parabola is the curve created when a plane intersects a right circular
cone parallel to the side (elements) of the cone
Elements
Cutting plane

Parallel

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

10

Conic Curves - Parabolas

A
Axis

Parabola is defined as the set of points in a

plane that are equidistant from a point
(focus, F) and a fixed line (directrix, 1).

P
Focus

A
P

Parabola

Directrix

Ken Youssefi

PP = PF
AA = AF

Constructing a parabola using the

Tangent method

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Conic Curves - Parabolas

Engineering applications of parabola
Light rays

Light rays

Light source

Eye piece

Searchlight mirror

Telescope mirror

A parabola revolved about its

axis creates a surface called
paraboloid.
Satellite dish antenna

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Engineering applications of parabola

Zero g

Parabola

Parabola
Zero g

Zero g

Load

Beam of uniform strength

Weightless flight trajectory

= Mc/I = M / Z

Ken Youssefi

An auditorium ceiling in shape of paraboloid

reduces reverberations if the speaker stands
13
Mechanical Engineering Dept.
near the focus

Engineering applications of parabola

Parabolic Solar Mirror

designed by MIT.
Perfect mirror with
zero distortion, sound
and light waves

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Odeillo Font-Romeux, France, location of the world's largest solar furnace, a parabolic reflector
that focuses solar radiation at a point to generate extremely high temperatures. Sixty-three flat
mirrors, installed on eight terraces, reflect the solar radiation on the eight-story high parabolic
reflector. Every position is calculated so that the reflected light is parallel to the symmetry axis of
the paraboloid. The reflector then concentrates the energy in the focal zone about 18 meters in
front of the paraboloid, The typical range of available temperature is from 800 to 2500C (1475
to 4500F), with a maximum reachable temperature of approximately 3800C (6850F). These
temperatures correspond to a maximum thermal power of about 1000 kW.

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

15

Conic Curves - Hyperbolas

A hyperbola is the curve created when a
plane parallel to the axis and perpendicular
to the base intersects a right circular cone.
P1

Hyperbola is defined as the set of

points in a plane whose distances
from two fixed points (foci, B1, B2) in
the plane have constant differences.
d2 d1 = constant = 2a
Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Conic Curves - Hyperbolas

Cooling Towers of Nuclear Reactors
The hyperboloid is the design standard for all nuclear
cooling towers. It is structurally sound and can be
built with straight steel beams.
For a given diameter and height of a tower and a
given strength, this shape requires less material than
any other form.

Dulles Airport, designed by Eero Saarinen, is

in the shape of a hyperbolic paraboloid
Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Munich, Olympia buildings

Calgry skyline and Pengrowth

Saddledome, July 23, 2005
Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Conic Curves - Ellipse

An ellipse is the curve created when a
plane cuts all the elements (sides) of the
cone but its not perpendicular to the axis.

Ellipse is defined as the set of points in a

plane for which the sum of the distances
from two fixed points (foci) in the plane is
constant
AD + DC = AB + BC
Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

19

Conic Curves - Ellipse

In New York's Grand Central Station, underneath the
main concourse theres a special place known as The
Whispering Gallery where the faintest murmur can be
heard 40 feet away across the busy passageway.
Look for a place where two walkways intersect, and a
vaulted roof forms a shallow dome. Take a friend and
pick diagonal corners. Turn your faces to the wall and
start talking. It's a popular spot for marriage proposals.

Other famous examples are found in Mormon Tabernacle

in Salt Lake, St Paul's Cathedral in London and St Peter's
Basilica in Rome.

The Statuary Hall in the Rotunda (Capitol

Building in Washington D.C.) has a ceiling
curved as an ellipse. It has been suggested
that after John Quincy Adams left presidency
and became a member of the House, he
would sit in one focus point of the ellipsoid
and listen to the other party located near the
other focus point. The place is labeled in the
floor by a brass name tag.
Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

20

Pool with elliptical roof

Ellipse wings, gives up

to 30% increase in
power compared to the
traditional planes
Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

21

Conic Curves - Ellipse

Some tanks are in fact elliptical (not circular) in cross section. This gives them
a high capacity, but with a lower center-of-gravity. They're shorter, so that they
can pass under a low bridge. You might see these tanks transporting heating
oil or gasoline on the highway

Ellipses (or half-ellipses) are sometimes used as fins, or airfoils in

structures that move through the air. The elliptical shape reduces drag.

On a bicycle, you might find a chainwheel (the gear that is connected to the
pedal cranks) that is approximately elliptical in shape. Here the difference
between the major and minor axes of the ellipse is used to account for
differences in the speed and force applied
Elliptical gears are used for certain applications

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Conic Curves

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Curve Entities Synthetic Curves

Analytical curves are usually not sufficient to meet the design requirements
of complex mechanical parts, car bodies, ship hulls, airplane fuselages and
wings, shoe insoles, propeller blades, bottles, plastic enclosures for
household appliances and power tools, .

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Radio

Thermos

Coffee Press
Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Curve Entities Synthetic Curves

Mathematically, synthetic curves represent the problem of
constructing a smooth curve given a set of data points. There
are two methods of curve fitting; Polynomials and Splines
Polynomial given a set of data points find a function of
order n that best presents the curve passing through all the
data points.
Splines this method of curve fitting works with the basic
assumption that a cubic function can be passed between
any two points. And curve segments can be connected
using smoothing constraints.

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

28

Curve Entities Synthetic Curves

A complex curve is molded by several curve segments pieced together
end-to-end. Several continuity requirements can be specified at the data
points to impose various smoothness on the resulting curve; zero order
continuity yields position-continuous curve, first-order continuity implies
slope, second-order continuity imposes curvature-continuous curve
Order of continuity of curves

A cubical polynomial is
the minimum order
polynomial that can
guarantee the
generation of the curve.
3

P(x) = Cixi
i=0

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

29

Curve Entities - Synthetic Curves

Methods of defining
synthetic curves

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

30

Synthetic Curves Freeform Curves

If the curve is created by smoothly connecting the control points,
the process is called interpolation.

Control point

If the curve is created by drawing a smooth curve passing through

some control points, but not all of the control points, the process is
called approximation (Extrapolation).

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

31

Synthetic Curves Freeform Curves

For CAD systems, three types of freeform curves have been developed,

Cubic spline

Bezier curve

B-spline curve

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

32

Synthetic Curves Cubic Spline

Hermite Cubic Spline
Cubic splines use cubic polynomials (3rd order polynomials). The
polynomial has four coefficients and needs four conditions to evaluate
the coefficients. The Hermit cubic spline uses two data points at its
ends and two tangent vectors at these points.
The parametric equation of a cubic spline in an expanded vector form
can be written as;

P0 and P1 are the end points

and P0 and P1 are the
tangent vectors. For planar
spline tangent vectors can
be replaced by slope.

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

33

Synthetic Curves Cubic Spline

The control of the curve is not very obvious from the input data. Changing
the data points (end points) and the slope, changes the entire shape of the
spline. This does not provide an intuitive feel required for design, not very
popular.

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

34

Synthetic Curves Bezier Curve

The Bezier curve is defined by a set of data points. The curve could be
created using interpolation (passing thru the points) or extrapolation.
Some CAD system provide both option, others offer only interpolation.

Ken Youssefi

The slope and shape of the Bezier curve is controlled by its data
points. Unlike the cubic curve that the Tangent vector controls the
shape. This provides the designer with a much better feel for the
relationship between the input points and the output curve.

The cubic spline is a third order curve, whereas the order of

the Bezier curve is defined by the number of data points and
is variable. n + 1 data points define nth degree curve , which
permits higher order continuity. CAD systems limit the
degree of the curve.

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

35

Synthetic Curves Bezier Curve

Mathematically, for n + 1 control points, the Bezier curve is defined by the
following polynomial of degree n:
Control point

Bernstein polynomials

Point on the
curve

The Bernstein polynomial serves as the blending function, C(n, i) is

the binomial coefficient.

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

36

Synthetic Curves Bezier Curve

The data points of the Bezier curve are called control points. Only
the first and the last control points lie on the curve. The other points
define the shape of the curve.

The curve is always tangent to the first and the last polygon
segment. The curve shape tends to follow the polygon shape.

Characteristic polygon

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

37

Synthetic Curves Bezier Curve

Modifying the curve by changing

one or more vertices of its
polygon (control points).

Modifying the curve by keeping

the polygon fixed and specifying
multiple coincident points at a
vertex (control point)

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

38

Synthetic Curves Bezier Curve

A desired feature of the Bezier curve or any curve defined by a polygon is
the Convex hull property. This property guarantees that curve lies in the
convex hull regardless of changes made in control points.

Ken Youssefi

The curve never oscillates wildly away from its defining control
points

The size of the convex hull is the upper bound on the size of the
curve itself.

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

39

Synthetic Curves Bezier Curve

Disadvantages of Bezier curve over the cubic spline curve

The curve lacks local control, if one control point is changed,

the whole curve changes (global control)
Bezier curve

Cubic curve

Ken Youssefi

The curve degree depends on the number of data points,

most CAD software limit the number of points used to define
a Bezier curve
Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Synthetic Curves Bezier Curve

The designer should be able to predict the shape of the curve once its
control points are given.

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Synthetic Curves Bezier Curve

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Synthetic Curves B-Spline Curve

B-spline curves are powerful generalization of Bezier curve.

Ken Youssefi

The curves have the same characteristics as Bezier

curves

They provide local control as opposed to the global control

of the curve by using blending functions which provides
local influence.

The B-spline curves also provide the ability to separate the

curve degree from the number of data points.

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Synthetic Curves B-Spline Curve

Local control of B-spline curve

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

44

Synthetic Curves B-Spline Curve

Effect of the degree of B-spline curve on the shape
Midpoint

Tangent to the curve at the midpoints of

all the internal polygon segments

As the degree decreases, the generated B-spline curve moves closer to its
control polyline.

Ken Youssefi

7 degree

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

5 degree

3 degree

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Synthetic Curves B-Spline Curve

Effect of point multiplicity of B-spline curve on the shape

Multiple control points induce regions of high curvature, increase the number of
multiplicity to pull the curve towards the control point (3 points at P3)

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

46

Synthetic Curves B-Spline Curve

B-spline curve property allows us to design complex shapes with lower degree
polynomials. For example, the right figure below shows a Bezier curve with the
same set of control points. It still cannot follow the control polyline nicely even
though its degree is 10.

Bezier curve

B-spline curve

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

47

SolidWorks Commands Parabola and Spline

2010/11 version same as 2012/13 version

2013/14 version

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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SW
2012/2013
Select Tools
and then
Sketch Entities

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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SolidWorks Commands Spline on Surface

The only option to sketch
on a curved surface is
Spline on Surface

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

50

Parabola Command in SW
2 - Select the Apex
Parabola

1 - Select the Focus point

Start

End

3 - Select the Start point, and drag

to the End point
Start

End
Focus
Vertex

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

51

Spline Command in SW
Cubic Spline Curve SolidWorks generates a smooth curve passing through all
data points. The shape can be manipulated by control points and tangent vectors.
Data point #2

Point #2 modified
from (1,1) to (1,2)

Point #

X & Y coordinates of
the point, Y changed
from 1 to 2.

Tangent Driving box is checked off

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

52

Spline Command in SW
The spline shape can be modified by
manipulating the tangent vector for each
point.

Data point #3 is selected

Size (weight)

angle
Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Spline Toolbar in SW

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Curves defined by equations

Mathematical
Equation

x + sin(x)

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Spline in Creo

Double click any

point to change
the type of spline

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Spline in Creo

Interpolation

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Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Creo
5 control points (data points)

User can control the

slope at the end.

Modification is done by dragging

a control point, cubic spline (local
control)
Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Spline in Creo

B-Spline

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Spline in NX5 (Unigraphics)

All splines created in NX are Non Uniform Rational B-splines (NURBS). In NX
the terms "B-spline" and "spline" are used interchangeably.

Splines

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

60

Spline in NX5 (Unigraphics)

Studio Spline
Use this command to interactively create an associative or non-associative
spline. You can create splines by dragging defining points or poles. You can
assign slope or curvature constraints at given defining points or to end poles.
Making splines associative preserves their creation parameters and links them
parametrically to parent features
Interpolation

Extrapolation

Cubic
polynomial
Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Spline in NX5 (Unigraphics)

Manipulating the spline curve

Change Tangent Direction

Change Curvature
Change Tangent Magnitude
Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Spline in NX5 (Unigraphics)

B-Spline Curve, extrapolation method (does not pass thru points)

Closed option

Convex hull

Open option

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Spline in NX5 (Unigraphics)

Fit Spline

This option lets you create a spline by fitting it to specified data

points. The data points can reside in a set of chained points, or on faceted
bodies, curves, or faces. You can set endpoint and inner continuity
constraints, and you can control the accuracy and shape of the fit by
specifying:

Ken Youssefi

degrees and segments

degrees and tolerance
a template curve

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

64

Example - Spline in NX5 (Unigraphics)

Five data points using 3rd order
polynomial to fit

Five data points using 4th order

polynomial to fit

A Fit Spline created on a faceted Body

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

65

Spline in NX5 (Unigraphics)

Spline
You can create splines using one of several methods.

There are four creation methods for splines:

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

66

Spline in NX5 (Unigraphics)

By Poles

Causes the spline to gravitate towards each data point (that is, pole), but
not pass through it, except at the endpoints.

Through
Points
Ken
Youssefi

The spline passes through a set of data points.

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

67

Spline in NX5 (Unigraphics)

Fit

A specified tolerance is used in "fitting" the spline to its data points; the
spline does not necessarily pass through the points.

Perpendicular
to Planes

The spline passes through and is perpendicular to each plane in a set.

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

68

Parabola Command in NX
A parabola is a set of points equidistant from a point (the focus) and a line
(the directrix), lying in a plane parallel to the work plane. The default parabola
is constructed with its axis of symmetry parallel to the XC axis.
To create a parabola:
Indicate the vertex for the parabola using the Point Constructor.
Define the creation parameters of the parabola.

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

69

Example - Parabola Command in NX

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

70

Hyperbola Command in NX
This option allows you to create a hyperbola. By definition, a
hyperbola contains two curves - one on either side of its center. In NX,
only one of these curves is constructed. The center lies at the
intersection of the asymptotes and the axis of symmetry passes through
this intersection. The hyperbola is rotated from the positive XC axis
about the center and lies in a plane parallel to the XC-YC plane.
To create a hyperbola:
Indicate the center of the hyperbola
using Point Constructor.
Define the parameters of the
hyperbola.
A hyperbola has two axes: a
transverse axis and a conjugate
axis. The semi-transverse and
semi-conjugate parameters refer to
half the length of these axes. The
relationship between these two
axes determines the slope of the
curve.
Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

71

Example - Hyperbola Command in NX

Hyperbola

Revolved feature

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Example General Conic Command in NX

This option lets you create a conic section by defining five coplanar points.
Define the points using the Point Constructor. If the conic section created is an
arc, an ellipse, or a parabola, it will pass through the points starting at the first
point and ending at the fifth.

Revolved
feature
Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

73

General Conic Curve Command in NX

The General Conic option lets you create conic sections by using
either one of the various loft conic methods or the general conic equation.
The resulting conic is either a circle, an ellipse, a parabola, or a
hyperbola, depending on the mathematical results of the input data.

Overview of Conics
Conics are created
mathematically by sectioning
cones. The type of curve that
results from the section depends
on the angle at which the section
passes through the cone. A conic
curve is located with its center at
the point you specify, in a plane
parallel to the work plane (the
XC-YC plane).

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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2013/14 version

Creating a conic in SolidWorks is very simple. It builds much like a 3point-arc, but instead of adjusting a radius value, we adjust a parameter
called Rho (). If you imagine the conic as a rounded corner, then Rho is
the ratio of the distance of the peak of the rounded corner to the sharp
corner (D1/D2). This gives us an intuitive way to adjust the curvature of
the conic without having to delve into which type of conic section it is, or
what its mathematical eccentricity is.
Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

75

SolidWorks Conic Command

2 select the Apex

3 Select the Rho () value

1 select the two

end points start

Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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Ken Youssefi

Mechanical Engineering Dept.

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