CompuServe Messages

NURBS – Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines. NURBS is a mathmatical model for representing curves, surfaces or solids. The math can represent any other type of geometric object like box, sphere or plane. Generally NURBS are smooth surfaces and can easily be molded in whatever shape is required. NURBS can be spliced or fused to add more geometry to a model. The connection can be smooth or sharp and the connection will not split as more molding is done. A patch modeler is just that, a commonly connected set of patches. A NURBS modeler can be run as a patch modeler because the patch mathmatics is a sub-element of the NURBS math. A NURBS modeler can also function as a spline modeler as splines are also a sub-element of the mathmatics. A NURBS modeler will only be as good as the tools and the interface available to the user. Any object can be modeled using NURBS. Once an object has been modeled with NURBS the object then can be optimized base on the surface math to create faces in the locations with the most detail. This face optimizition nevers changes the mathmatical model only the representation so it can be changed anytime and still can return to the orginial. Keith.