Most products design using 3D CAD systems are made from basic geometric shapes. Like extruded or rotated profiles. Or swept section along a curve. Typical the 3D form is made from combination of geometric creations joined together to get a desire shape. Then the designer may shell out the shape to create a hollow object. Add some other features like hole, ribs or cutouts for the desire functionality or mechanical strength. Add some radius edges to give aesthetic appeal.
Common CAD systems are PTC CREO, Solidworks, AutoCAD, SolidEdge, Catia, and Unigraphics. At Crawley Design we use Parametric Technology CAD. Known as CREO or Pro-Engineer.
We like PTC as they have history of innovation and redefining how CAD is used. Like example integrated 3D printing.
Automotive type styling requires highly skilled surface modelling. Only the high-end CAD systems or specialize software offer good solutions. Beware there is a number CAD Software Products that have surfacing, but not useful for doing real jobs.
High quality surfacing is term “Class A”. One features of Class A surfacing is the ability connect surfaces to be curvature continuous. This means at the intersection of the surfaces the radius is both tangential and curvature is equal, with smooth transition of radius change.
We use PTC A Class surfacing tools.
The video below showing Catia A Class surfacing tool.
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