Virtual clay modeling system

This paper describes a CAD system in which a user can directly manipulate the shape of a virtual object like a clay model and can produce its solid model data. The key component of its hardware is a special input device with a 3D position tracker and a tactile sensor. In this system, the movement of a virtual object is directly corresponding to the movement of the input device, and its surface is deformed when a user pushes somewhere on the tactile sensor. This makes a user feel as if he/she can manipulate a virtual object in a real world since he/she actually holds and touches the device. The software consists of a graphical viewer for displaying an object in 3-D, a data translator with a solid modeler for producing solid model data from polygonal data. Connecting this system with a manufacturing system, a virtually created shape can be easily actualized in a very short time. A preliminary prototype environment for a nonspherical lens-like object design is mentioned as an example.