Summary

Curved object manufacturing has become an important subject in modern industry as more varieties of industrial products are being designed with sculptured surfaces. Known as CAMM (computer-aided modeling & machining), the subject is rapidly becoming one of the most critical issues in CAD/CAM. Up till now, there has been a gap between the theory in CAGD (computer-aided geometric design) and the practices in CAMM. The aim of this volume is to fill the gap by presenting a comprehensive coverage of practical solutions for engineers, while at the same time providing problems for researchers. The main focus of the work is on the approach to and strategy for solving engineering problems. A sound understanding of the structure or domain of the problem as well as available techniques or tools is provided in each case, with the main emphasis being on descriptive shape models. The broad mathematical principles of CAGD are covered, in addition to some details of practical implementation. The book is self-contained in that an undergraduate level of algebraic calculus is sufficient to follow the discussions.