Which Method to Use?

Some of the most important decisions when making a model are made at the outset of the design process – how can the model be broken down into surfaces that are simple enough to manage? Remember it is often easier to work with several simple surfaces than a few complex ones. If during the modeling process you find that this initial decision is wrong, don’t be afraid to break the model down even further.

Having decided what surfaces are needed then each surface may be constructed in several different ways. Some ways may be difficult to achieve, while some can be very easy.

In particular, the choice of projection and section directions is important when building a surface. Before starting the design, carefully consider which coordinate direction works best for the primary projection, which one for the secondary projection, and which for section curves. As a rule, the most complex shape should be chosen for the primary projection whereas symmetry is good for secondary projections.

When building a surface with section curves that are substantially different from each other, it may be difficult to control what happens between the sections. The resulting surface may be wrinkled. This may imply that the surface is too complex and needs to be broken down further.