Modeling and simulation of product's surface design

Surface design and structure design are two aspects of product design. Product information can be perfectly described only if both of them are organically united. The impact of a product’s appearance on its performance and decoration has been given much attention in engineering and on the market. The existing CAD system does not suffice for surface design, which is still designed with experience and handicraft. This case does not accommodate new market development. To grapple with this problem, a representation of appearance features, an aided design of the figure and the surface design, which is based on mapping, are detailed in this paper. A design system of surface design and an instance of its application are given at the end of the paper. q 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.