Getting Started SURFCAM

Creating and modifying surfaces in SURFCAM
Surfaces represent the 3-dimensional shape of a part. In SURFCAM, surfaces are displayed using
U and V flow lines that show the outer boundary and inner shape of the surface. Because surfaces
are used to describe complex 3D shapes, each surface has a direction arrow that serves two
purposes. First, it determines which side of the surface will be used for filleting, offsetting, single
surface machining, and cutter intersections. Second, it determines the direction of the cutter path
for single surface machining operations.
Creating surfaces
Surfaces are created using commands on the Create > Surface toolbar.
Create > Surface toolbar
SURFCAM supports the following types of surfaces:
Icon Command Description
Points Creates a surface through a set of points
Cross
Section
Drive Curve
Offset
Fillet
Primitives
Revolution
Extrude
Blend
Trim Plane
Creates a surface from a set of contours
Creates a surface by sweeping one or more contours along a curve
Creates a surface by offsetting an existing surface
Creates a constant or variable fillet surface tangent to two surfaces
Creates a cylinder, cone, sphere, torus, wedge, cuboid or planar surface
Creates a surface by rotating a contour around an axis
Creates a surface by extruding, or pushing, a profile along a vector
Creates a surface between two to four curves or surfaces
Creates a planar surface at the edge of an existing surface or within a
closed profile
The Options command lets you control how many U and V curves are used to display the
surface, the surface tolerance, and options for controlling drive curve surfaces.
Modifying surfaces
Surfaces can be modified using standard commands on the Edit menu such as Trim/Break or
Transform or by using commands on the Edit > Surfaces toolbar.
102 | Get Started with SURFCAM