Flexible rounding operation for polyhedra (Q1182355): Difference between revisions

The paper presents a local blending method that constructs bicubic patches replacing edges and vertices of polyhedral methods. The algorithm differs from the published subdivision algorithms insofar as it generates the geometric data of patches, produces rectangular patches only, and works for any vertex of a polyhedron. The edges of a solid are replaced by cylindrical surfaces, and, at the vertices where these cylinders meet, rectangular patches are constructed with tangent planes at their common corner points. The boundary representation of the blended solid is derived without changing the topological structure. A range of rounding radii can be chosen, and the shape of the blending surfaces can be deformed by scalar parameters, making them flatter or sharper.