Manufacturing Technology ME461

Instructor: Shantanu Bhattacharya

Review of previous lecture

Concatenation and compounding for series of transformations. Practical problem of compounding. Non-parametric representation (implicit and explicit cases). Example problem of straight line.

Non parametric representation (Explicit case)

Non parametric equations of curves can be further divided into explicit and implicit nonparametric equations. The explicit non parametric representation of general two dimensional and three dimensional curves taken the form:

Non parametric representation (Implicit case)

The implicit non parametric representation of a general n-dimensional space curve takes the form:

This equation must b solved analytically to obtain the explicit form, which is not easily done by computer.

Example Problem Develop the non parametric equation for the ellipse as shown in the figure on the left.

2A

Solution

Parametric Representation of Synthetic curves

Analytic curves, are usually well defined and studied. However, in the geometric design of mechanical parts, some other curves are required. One familiar example is the car body which contains curves which not only envelop inside the mechanical part but also help reduce air resistance. Other examples might include fuselage, wings, and propeller blades of airplanes, whose shape is based on aerodynamic and fluid flow simulation.

Parametric representation of synthetic curve

Generally speaking, a good representation of engineering objects has to have the following properties: 1. Easy to control the continuity of the curves to be designed. 2. Requires less storage to represent a curve. 3. Less computation time and no computational problems. 4. Easy to input by user.

Concept of continuity
Intuitively, continuity means the smoothness of the connection of two curves or surfaces at the connection of two curves or surfaces at the connection points or edges. Normally, three types of continuity, called C0 , C1 , C2 are defined to characterize the smoothness of connection of two curves. C0 continuity implies simply connecting two curves. That means that the gradients of these curves at the point of joining
In C1 continuity, the gradients at the point of joining must be same. However, C2 implies curvature continuity; that is , not only gradient but also the center of curvature is the same. Curves that are constructed by many curve segments are called synthetic curves. Different types of curve segments can be used to construct synthetic curves, with certain continuity requirements. They are easier in controlling their continuity requirements and plotting them is computationally less intensive.

Types of synthetic curves

Hermite cubic spline Bezier cruves B-Spline curves Rational B-Splines Nonuniform rational B-Spline

Hermite Cubic Spline

The main idea of the Hermite cubic spline is that a curve is divided into segments. Each segment is approximated by an expression, namely a parametric cubic function. The reasons for using cubic functions to approximate the segments are: 1. A cubic polynomial is the minimum order polynomial function that generates C0 , C1 , C2 continuity curves. 2. Higher order polynomials have some drawbacks, such as oscillation about control points, and are uneconomical in terms of storing information and computation.

Derivation of the parameter equation

This form can be adjusted to yield various shapes of curve segment by altering one or more of V(0), V(1), V(0) and V(1) appropriately. The Hermite form of a cubic spline is determined by defining positions and tangent vectors at the data points. There are some disadvantages of this method. For example, 1. First order derivatives are needed; it is not convenient for a designer to provide first order derivative. 2. The order of the curve is constant regardless of the no,. of data points.

Example Problem
Determine and plot the equation of Hermite form of a cubic spline form given position vectors and slopes at the data points with vector magnitude equal to 1. Point 1: A= [1,2]T, slope A= 60 deg. Point 2: B= [1,3]T, slope B = 30 deg.