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SurfaceWorks offers 15 different surface types

SurfaceWorks builds up complex models from a set of specific geometric entities, including several kinds of points, several kinds of curves, and several kinds of surfaces. SurfaceWorks has a unique name for each of its entities; these are the surfaces:

1. Arc-Lofted Surface -- a lofted surface whose lofting curves are circular arcs. There are 6 types of Arc-Lofted Surface. Here is an example.
2. Blend Surface -- which allows a user to smoothly blend two surfaces with G1 or G2 tangency. Click for an example.
3. Blister -- a protuberance or bulge, usually a local feature, built up on a parent surface. There are 16 different types of Blister.
4. B-spline Lofted Surface -- lofting curves are B-splines. This means the B-spline Lofted Surface interpolates its start (curve1) and end (curveN ) control curves, but in general not the others, which have a "guiding" or "shaping" effect like the interior control points of a B-spline Curve.Click for an example.
5. Centerpoint Boundary Surface. The Centerpoint Boundary Surface is generated by a two-way interpolation between opposite edge curves. The shape is determined primarily by the edge curves, which are blended together in an interesting and usually attractive and useful way. The data point (center point ), which the patch interpolates at parameters u = .5, v = .5, provides additional control over the patch interior. Example.
6. C-spline Lofted Surface -- lofting curves are C-splines. This means the C-spline Lofted Surface passes through all of its control curves. Example.
7. Fitted Surface. A Fitted Surface is a uniform B-spline surface, least-squares fitted to the tabulated data of its parent surface. Its principal function is for transferring back to SolidWorks surfaces which do not automatically meet the tolerance when transferred. In such cases, creating a Fitted Surface from the parent surface for transfer back to SolidWorks gives you more control over the accuracy of the transferred surfaces. Click for an example.
8. Mirrored Surface. A Mirrored Surface is a surface entity created by reflecting a given parent surface   across a specified mirror  entity. If surface  is later changed, the Mirrored Surface will be relocated to remain in the mirror-image position. Mirror  can be a plane, line, or point entity. Example.
9. Offset Surface -- formed by offsetting each point of the parent surface along the direction normal to the basis surface. To create an Offset Surface, you specify the parent Surface and the magnitude of the Offset. Example.
10. Revolution Surface -- a surface formed by rotating a copy of a curve about an axis. Example.
11. SubSurface -- a parameterized portion of another surface, bounded by snakes (curves constrained to stay on a surface).
12. Swept Surface -- a surface created by sliding or "sweeping" a copy of a "shape" curve along a "path" curve. The "shape" curve maintains a constant orientation with respect to the local tangent to the "path". Consequently, the Swept Surface has the character of a bent extrusion -- "shape" providing the extrusion cross section, and "path" specifying the bending. Click for an example.
13. Tangent Boundary Surface. A Tangent Boundary Surface is defined by four boundary curves (and/or snakes and/or points), a set of control values that influence the interior shape of the surface, and a set of edge conditions. The four bounding curves define a basis boundary surface which, together with the control values and edge conditions, define the ultimate shape of the surface. Tangency and curvature continuity conditions can be imposed along any combination of edges that are defined by snakes or non-linear planar curves. Example.
14. Translation Surface -- a surface formed by sliding (translating) a copy of one basis curve along another basis curve. There is no rotation, i.e. the generating curve remains parallel to its original orientation as it sweeps out the surface. Example.
15. Trimmed Surface -- a non-parameterized portion of a parent surface bounded by snakes. Example.

 

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