Curve Creation

There are a number of ways of creating new curves, and regenerating existing ones. This is done using the New Curve dialog, launched by selecting or CURVE \ NEW…

When creating a curve, the user decides whether it will be planar or non-planar. Planar curves lie in an orthogonal (section, waterline or buttock) plane. 2d curve (Sections, Waterlines, Buttocks, Clines ) are inherently planar. However, 3d curve types (Plines, Knuckles and Tangents) may also be created such that they lie in an orthogonal plane.

In all cases a new curve is created by generating a set of data points and fitting a curve to them.

Generally the user selects the type of curve to create, and specifies a name for it (this must be no more than 8 characters long). Orthogonal curves (Sections, Waterlines and Buttocks) are identified by position, so no name is specified.