Going from Concept to Production Quality Class A Surfaces
Surface Refinement is a discipline involved in all processes involving complex surfaces design or re-work. The title “Surface Refinement” is an industry expression encompassing all the processes required to reach a very high level of quality in surface design. The corresponding tasks for CAD users are mainly:
Thanks to the powerful and industry leading Curve and Surface modeling tools (ICEM Surf), designers have the full freedom to create high quality Class A surface geometry within intuitive and ergonomically optimized user interface supporting the need for rapid and efficient interactions during geometry creation and modifications.
The next generation of surface modeling for Styling & Class A ICEM Design Experience delivers an innovative, new, specialized modeling application on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform for CAS and Class A surfacing specialists. It delivers a comprehensive and completely integrated set of tools for industrial design, providing a high level of design freedom, an efficient and intuitive user interface, and precise, industry-leading surface results.
Why do we believe that our customers are facing an increasing need for high quality complex shapes? In all industries, product sophistication is a necessary trend to meet final customer expectations. To get a chance to stay competitive on the market, companies now have to take care of aspects that cannot be avoided anymore, among which:
CATIA Surface Refinement solutions, as the globally accepted industry standard, offers key benefits to reach aesthetical criteria within technical constraints:
On the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, CATIA Surface Refinement software products are packaged as Roles to get you up to speed faster and work more efficiently with all needed applications available at your fingertips. Select a package that corresponds to your role in an organization.
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Surface modeling is a technique in computer-aided design (CAD) and 3D computer graphics used to create a visual representation of objects with complex, curved surfaces. It's particularly useful in fields where the aesthetic design, aerodynamics, or fluid dynamics of a product are important, such as automotive design, aerospace, consumer goods, and character modeling in animation. Here's a closer look at surface modeling:
Solid modeling and surface modeling are two fundamental approaches in computer-aided design (CAD) for creating and representing 3D objects. Each approach has its unique characteristics and is suited to different types of applications.
Solid modeling focuses on intricate product design, considering the entirety of its geometry, while surface modeling prioritizes visual appeal. While distinct, they're better viewed as complementary rather than opposing methods, each serving a vital role in the design process and offering unique benefits to clients.
Wireframe modeling and surface modeling are two distinct approaches in 3D design. Wireframe modeling is a basic form of representation that uses lines and vertices to outline a 3D object, offering a skeletal framework without surface details, making it efficient for initial design stages. In contrast, surface modeling adds a 'skin' to the wireframe structure, creating a more realistic and detailed representation of the object with textures, colors, and shading.
While wireframe models are great for conceptualizing and structural visualization due to their simplicity, surface models are better suited for final presentations and detailed visualizations, as they provide a lifelike appearance and can represent complex shapes more accurately.
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