Fitting a Surface to a Cloud of Points

You can fit a datum surface to a cloud of points or to any other type of geometry.

A non-datum feature cannot be fitted: you must have previously created it as a datum element or converted it using the Converter Wizard capability.

Before you begin: Open an existing 3D shape containing a surface and a cloud of points.
  1. From the Edition section of the action bar, click Fit to Geometry .
  2. Select the surface or set of surfaces you wish to deform by fitting them to the cloud of points.


  3. Right-click the Free label to impose a continuity constraint.

    You can select one of the following constraint types:

    • Free: No constraint is imposed on this boundary.
    • Point: The resulting surface will still pass through the boundary of the initial surface.
    • Tangent: The edge of the resulting surface will be tangent to the initial surface at the selected boundary.
    • Curvature: The resulting surface will be continuous in curvature with the initial surface at the selected boundary.
  4. In the Fitting area, define the deformation parameters.
    • Tension: Indicates the tension coefficient to be applied.
    • Smoothness: Defines the smoothing coefficient to be applied.
  5. Select Targets and select the element to which the surface should fit.
  6. Click Fit.
    The surface is projected onto the target geometry.
  7. Repeat the operation to deform the surface step-by-step and to fine-tune the fit.
  8. Optional: Select Automatic trap to reduce the number of points to be taken into account when the target element is a cloud of points containing many points.
  9. Click OK.
    The new surface fits as best the cloud of points.

    Tip: You can also choose to impose a direction when fitting the surface to the cloud of points. The surface will then be projected to the initial surface according to the cloud of points and no longer according to the normals.
    Projection according to the cloud of points

    Projection according to the normals