About Blend Surfaces

This section deals with basic concepts you should know before beginning with creating a Blend surface.

See Also
Creating Blend Surfaces
Blend Surface Dialog Box - Main Area

The connecting edges may consist of several edges or curves. If no support is used, the result will be created with G0 continuity between blend and connecting surfaces.

Additionally, curves or edges can be projected onto surfaces. In this case, the blend surface will be matched to the projected surface curves. If a support surface is selected, the transition quality may be position, tangent, curvature, or torsion continuity (G0-G3).

The beginning or end cross tangent of the blend surface can be aligned collinear to the beginning or end cross tangent of the adjacent surfaces.

For the blend type Global, the iso-curves of the blend surface can be aligned by a moving frame.

Depending on the transition quality of the adjacent surfaces between each other, the blend surfaces are matched to each other meeting tangent or curvature continuity. The segmentation of the blend surface depends on the segmentation of the edge selected first.

The start and end points of the connecting edges can be re-defined subsequently. Move the point manipulators at the start and end along the selected edges (see also "Manipulators and Contextual Commands" in "Blend Surface Dialog Box").

Creation of a blend surface (blend type Global)

Curve Offset and Isoparametric Curve as Input Features

If an offset or isoparametric curve is selected as input element, certain parameters of these curves can be modified via manipulators directly in Blend Surface .

For offset curves, length manipulators are displayed at the curve’s start and end. For isoparametric curves, a point manipulator is shown directly on the support surface.

Explicit Creation of Input Features

The following prerequisites apply to the use of these features as input elements:

  • The input features must have been created with ICEM Shape DesignCurve Offset or Generative Shape Design Isoparametic Curve .
  • The support surface for creating the blend surface must be the same used for the input feature. The size of the support surfaces must be identical.
  • The offset curve must have been created with Alignment: On Surface. The Both Sides option has to be cleared.

Implicit Creation of an Isoparametric Curve

Instead of creating an external isoparametric curve it is also possible to internally create such a curve inside Blend Surface which simplifies the workflow drastically.

After starting the command, the selection of the edges and support elements is activated. When the mouse pointer is positioned on top of a surface, the preview of an isoparametric curve is shown at the pointer position. The curve is created by pressing the left mouse button. This curve is then added to the list of edges, and the selected surface to the list of supports.

The border curve of the support which is closest to the picked position will be used to align the isoparametric curve (U or V direction).