Draping 2D Patterns Onto 3D Surfaces

We describe a simple new CAD operator that allows draping of given 2D patterns onto the surface of a 3D mold. The 2D pattern is any closed, connected polygon or a polygonal approximation of a shape bounded by curves. The mold is typically described in terms of any standard surface representation scheme, such as NURBS or B-Splines. The draping is achieved by mapping skeletal lines on the 2D pattern onto corresponding geodesic curves on the 3D surface. If the mold surface is developable, our method gives a draping with zero distortion. A useful application in the CAD of footwear is demonstrated as a motivation for this work. A simple software program has been implemented to test the operator, and examples are provided to demonstrate its use.Copyright © 2003 by ASME