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CLASSASURFACING|CATIATutor

CLASSASURFACING
April5,2007
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CLASSA(https://catiatutor.com/catiahandbook/classa/)

AClasssurfacinganditsimportance:Aclasssurfacesarethoseaesthetic/freeformsurfaces,whicharevisibletous(interior/exterior),havinganoptimal
aestheticshapeandhighsurfacequality.
MathematicallyclassAsurfacearethosesurfaceswhicharecurvaturecontinuouswhileprovidingthesimplestmathematicalrepresentationneededforthe
desiredshape/formanddoesnothaveanyundesirablewaviness.
Curvaturecontinuity:Itisthecontinuitybetweenthesurfacessharingthesameboundary.Curvaturecontinuitymeansthatateachpointofeachsurface
alongthecommonboundaryhasthesameradiusofcurvature.
WhyClassAisneeded:
Weallunderstandthattodayproductsarenotonlydesignedconsideringthefunctionalitybutspecialconsiderationaregiventoitsform/aestheticswhichcan
bringadesireinonesmindtoownthatproduct.Whichisonlypossiblewithhighclassfinishandgoodforms.ThisisthereasonwhyindesignindustriesClassA
surfacearegivenmoreimportance.
UnderstandingClassAsurfaces:
1.ThefilletsGenerallyforClassA,therequirementiscurvaturecontinuousandUniformflowofflowlinesfromfillettoparentsurfacevalueof0.005orbetter
(Position0.001mmandtangencytoabout0.016degrees).
2.TheflowofthehighlightlinesThelinesshouldformauniformfamilyoflines.Graduallywideningornarrowingbutingeneralneverpinchinginandout.
3.ThecontrolpointsshouldformaveryorderedstructureagainvaryinginAnglefromoneRowtothenextinagradualmanner(thiswillyieldthegood
Highlightsrequired).
4.ForaClassAmodelthefilletboundaryshouldbeeditedandmovedtoformaGentlelineandthenrematchedintothebasesurface.
5.MatchedisoparamsinU&VdirectionarealsoagoodrepresentationofclassA.
6.Thedegree(order)oftheBezierfilletsshouldgenerallybeabout6(alsoforarcRadiusdirection)sometimesyoumayhavetogohigher.
7.AlsoyouhavetotakecareofDraftangle,symmetry,gapsandmatchingofsurfacesCreatedwithparentorreferencesurfaces.
8.CurvaturecrosssectionneedlesacrossthepartwemakesuretherateofChangeofcurvature(ortheflowofthecappinglineacrossthetopofthepart)is
Verygentleandwellbehaved.
Thephysicalmeaning:
ClassAreferstothosesurfaces,whichareCURVATUREcontinuoustoeachotherattheirrespectiveboundaries.Curvaturecontinuitymeansthatateach
pointofeachsurfacealongthecommonboundaryhasthesameradiusofcurvature.
Thisisdifferenttosurfaceshaving
Tangentcontinuitywhichisdirectionalcontinuitywithoutradiuscontinuitylikefillets.
Pointcontinuityonlytouchingwithoutdirectional(tangent)orcurvatureequivalence.
Infact,tangentandpointcontinuityistheentirebasismostindustries(aerospace,shipbuilding,BIWetc).Fortheseapplications,thereisgenerallynoneedfor
curvature.
Bydefinition:
ClassAsurfacereferstothosesurfaceswhichareVISIBLEandabidetothephysicalmeaning,inaproduct.Thisclassificationisprimarilyusedinthe
automotiveandincreasinglyinconsumergoods(toothbrushes,PalmPCs,mobilephones,washingmachines,toiletlidsetc).Itisarequirementwhere
aestheticshasasignificantcontribution.ForthisreasontheexteriorofautomobilesaredeemedClassA.BIWisNOTClassA.Theexteriorofyousexy
toothbrushisClassA,theinteriorwithribsandinsertsetcisNOTClassA.
QUESTION:
WhatisBody_in_white?
WhatisclassAsurface?
Aretheinteriortrim(A,B,Cpillar,dashboard,centerconsole,handles)ofacarusingclassAsurface?
AnybodyusingthebasicdesignbundleofUGforclassAsurfacing?UG\ShapeStudio?
HowdoesitcomparewithCatia?
Ans:1
AclassAsurfaceisanythingthatyouthecustomersees.i.e.exteriorpanelsandinteriorsurfaces.
AClassBsurfaceissomethingthatisnotalwaysvisiblei.e.theundersideofafasciathatyouwouldhavetobenddowntosee.
AClassCsurfaceisthebacksideofapartofasurfacethatispermanentlycoveredbyanotherpart.
BIWisstufflikethebodysideetc..
Ans:2
Actuallybodyinwhiteisthetermusedtodescribethewholevehiclebodyafterithasbeenwelded/boltedtogetherbeforeitispaintedoranypartsareattached
onthefitupline.
Ans:3
WealsouseittomeanafterithasbeenpaintedIalwaysassumedthatthewhitebitreferstoprimer.Nextstepistofitthewindscreenandbacklight,whenit
becomestheglazedbodyinwhite,orBIW+G.
ANS:4
BIWSomesurfacesareClassA,i.e.bodyside,roof,sillappliqu.
IheardsometimeagofromaolddesignerthatthetermBIWcomesfromwhencarswerebuiltfromwood,theywerepaintedwhiteasitgivestheframea
uniformcolorsoimperfectionswereeasilyvisible.
Ans:5
BIWmeaningBodyInWhiteissocalledduetoitsappearanceaftertheapplicationoftheprimertotheentirelyBodypanelassembledvehiclejustbeforegoing
intothepaintingprocess.
Usuallytheprimeriswhiteorsilvergreywhichgivesthesocalledname.
ANS:6
CatiaismostlyusedforBIWdesign(Fordswitchingtocatia,andToyota).Isthisbecauseit
couldeasilycreatequinticsurfaces?WithUGwithDesignbundleonly,mostofthesurfacescreatedarecubic.

ANS:7
AclasssurfacemeansitisnotjustseensurfaceandunseensurfaceInnormalnotechnicalwords,
Aclasssurfacemeans

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Itissmoothlookingreflectivesurfacewithnodistortionoflighthighlights,whichmovesinasmoothuniformdesignerintendedformations.
whenyoucreatecarbodypanel,duetotheircomplexshapesitnotpossibletocreatethesurfacewithonesingleface/patchsoyoumakemultipleface/patch
(surfaceisagroupofface/patchaddedtogether.)
whenthesethingsareadded,attheboundaryofjoiningyouneedtohaveconnectivityandcontinuationofminimumordertwo.
forexample
Incaseone,attheconnectingboundaryoftwopatchesyouhavecommonboundarybutitissharpcorner.thisdoesnotqualifyasAclasssurface.
Incasetwoattheconnectingboundaryoftwopatcheshavecommonboundaryandnosharpcornerbutyouhavetangentcontinuity,thisalsodoesnot
qualifyasAclasssurface.
Incasetwoattheconnectingboundaryoftwopatcheshavecommonboundaryandnosharpcorneryouhavetangentcontinuityandcurvaturecontinuity
thisdoesqualifyasAclasssurface.
(sinecurveisgoodexampleforcurvaturecontinuity.butyoucannotcallitaAclasssurface)
reasonisverysimpletherealrequirementofaestheticandgoodlookinganddesignerintendedshapeisnotthere.
ANS:8
ForobtainingClassAsurfaces,CATIAismorecommonlyusedduetoitsinherentabilitytomodelveryhighqualitysurfacesingeneral.But,anyengineering
software(CATIA,UG,IDEAS,ProE,etc)cannotdevelopaClassAsurface.Thisbeingduetoengineeringcalculationsinvolvedinanysurfacegeneratedby
suchsoftwares.ForpureClassAsurfacesyouwouldneedstylingsoftwareslikeAlias,Studio,etc.
Theuseofanysoftwarewoulddependonthelevelofexpectationsplacedonyou.Ifyourprojectsneedonlythemodelingofthetrim,genericenggsoftwares
willdo,butifyouintendtogodownrightfromstyling,youwouldneedStudio,etc.

ANS:9
IHO,CatiaV4hasaddedatoolcalledBlendsurfthatisabletoobtainvirtualcurvaturecontinuity.Previously,evenstylingwascomfortablewithmodelsand
hencetoolsdefiningfilletswithconics,andmanyOEMsstillacceptthisforClassAsurfaces.CatiaV5hasGUIinterfacestoimposecurvaturecontinuitythe
samewaythatAliasWavefrontStudioTools(AutoStudio)does.Theyarebothbasedonpiecewisepolynomialequations,forwhatitsworth.Whileaconicfillet
isnottechnicallycurvaturecontinuous,therearemanyvehicles,includingluxurymodels,thathaveutilizedthemforClassAsurfacesanddownstreamparts.
Consideringthetolerancesincreatingmoldsanddiesandthenproducingpartsfromthem.asheetmetalpanelisnotamathmodel.

ANS:10
ItistruethatitistoughtomakegoodcurvaturecontinuoussurfaceinUG,butnotimpossible.
RememberonethingAclassdoesntmeanjustcurvaturecontinuity.andsmoothreflectionsonCADsurface.itislotmorethanthat.Imagine.whathappensto
yourAclasssurfaceincasepressedsheetmetalbodypanel.andmoldedplasticcomponents.
TheyhavetoretainthereintendedsmoothnessandothercharacteristicstoremainAclass.toachievethislotofotherthingshastobetakencarewhile
designingAclasssurfaces.
Forexample:
1Linefeaturesonbodysideexternalpanelandfeatureonhoodpanelwhichisverycommon,aretobedesignedtoavoidskiddingwhiletheyarepressed.
likewise
2Flangewidthandotherthingsaretobetakencarewhiledesigningfenderswheelarchareaforavoidingbulgingeffectandskiddingeffect.
3Fuellidopeningarea,plungedflangeforbulgeeffect.
4Panelstretchingneedstobetakencare.LotmanyotherthingsgoindesigningAclasssheetmetalpanelsfordoor,roofetc.
5Incaseofplastic,sinkmarksandotherthings.
ANS:11
InEuropeaAclasssurfaceisgenerallytakentobethevisiblesideofanycomponent/assemblyaBclasssurfacegenerallyrelatestotheopposite(or
inside)faceofanAsurfacei.e.thesurfacewhichdefinesthethicknessofthepart,andiswherethemountingandreinforcingdetailtendstobelocated.B
classsurfacescanalsobereferredtoasengineeringsurfaces.IhavenotpersonallyheardofanysurfacebeingreferredtoasaCtype.
Catia,whileitisokforsurfacingtendstobemoreusedforgeneratingengineeringsurfacedetailandsolidmodelssoftwarepackageslikeICEMSURFtendto
bemoreusedforgeneratingvisualqualitysurfaces.

ANS:12
TrueAclasssurfacingespeciallyonvehicleexteriorsgoesfurtherthanG2orcurvaturecontinuity.
G3isoftensoughtonthemoremajorblocksurfaces.G3dealswithcurvatureacceleration,i.e.therateofchangeofcurvatureacrossaboundary.
G2meansashasbeendescribedbeforethatthecurvaturevalueisthesameacrossaboundary.
G3meansthatthesurfacecurvatureleadingtotheboundaryischangingshapeatthesamerate.Itslikedrivingacarroundabend,youstartoffstraightthen
gentlyaddsteeringlocktothepointwhereyouneednomore,thenyougentlywindoffthesteeringuntilyourestraightagain.Ifyoulookatthecurveyourcar
made,thiswouldbeG3.
AClassandBclasswouldrefertosurfacequalityrequiredforthecomponentwhichisdifferenttoAsideandBsidewhichreferstowhichisthevisible/non
visiblepartofacomponent.
ICEMsurfisconsideredthebesttoolforspeedyAclasssurfacingduetothesophisticationofitsrealtimediagnostics.
Theconsequence:
Theconsequenceofthesesurfacesapartfromvisuallyandphysicallyaestheticshapesisthewaytheyreflecttherealworld.Whatwouldoneexpecttosee
acrosstheboundaryofpairsofpointcontinuity,tangentcontinuityandcurvaturecontinuitysurfaceswhenreflectingastraightanddrytreestumpinthe
desert????
vPointContinuity(alsoknownasG0continuity)willproduceareflectionononesurface,thenattheboundarydisappearandreappearatalocationslightly
differentontheothersurface.Thesamereflectivephenomenonwillshowwhenthereisagapbetweenthesurfaces(thelinemarkersonaroadreflecting
acrossthegapbetweenthedoorsofacar).
vTangentContinuity(alsoknownasG1continuity)willproduceareflectionononesurface,thenattheboundaryhaveakinkandcontinue.UnlikePoint
continuitythereflection(repeatREFLECTION)iscontinuousbuthasatangentdiscontinuityinit.Inanalogy,itislikeagreaterthansymbol.
vCurvatureContinuity(alsoknownasG2continuity,AliascandoG3!)thiswillproducetheunbrokenandsmoothreflectionacrosstheboundary.
vToachievethesameClassAsurfacesthatautomotivemanufacturersdemand,consumerproductmanufacturershaveavailedthemselvesofthesame
advancedsurfacemodelingtools.WhatisaClassAsurface?Thesimpleansweristhatitisaperfectlysmoothsurfacewithnoanomalies,inwhichall
adjoiningsurfaceshavecurvaturecontinuity.Thismeansthatwheretwosurfacesmeet,thegraduationofoneintotheotherisachievedwithoutdiscernible
abrupttransitions.ThetechniquesusedtocreateClassAsurfacestypicallyresideintoplevelsurfacemodelingsoftwaredevelopedforthemotorindustry,
ratherthanmidrangemechanicalCADpackagesthathaveevolvedfrom3Dsolidmodelingformechanicalassemblies.

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