Basics of

Solid Modeling

Geometric solid models are the preferred way of

defining manufactured parts and assemblies. In
recent years these techniques have taken a role in
characterizing control cabinets and wiring.
Modern engineering designs often combine several different kinds of modeling techniques. Mechanical designs today frequently come to life as mathematical solid models instead of as 2D drawings. These solid models frequently must work with other kinds of engineering software representing
entities such as wiring diagrams and component layouts. Dataflow programming techniques are
often the means of building such connections and expressing this information.
A solid model represents a shape as a three-dimensional object having mass properties. Solid
models are useful in several ways. For example, it is easier for nontechnical personnel to understand
3D renderings than to grasp two-dimensional drawings that consist of orthographic projections, auxiliary projections and cross
sections.
Solid modeling software may use any of several
methods to represent model
information. Feature-based,
parametric, and so-called
direct or explicit tools
let designers push and pull
models as if they were made
of clay.
Frequently, solid models
are useful because their
geometry can represent
not only the parts being
designed but the intent of
the designer. An example of
design intent might include
keeping two part faces parallel no matter how other part
features change, or maintaining the same mathematical
relationship between a parts
length and width. No matter
what dimensions the designer types in while building the model, the software
ensures the part definition is
1

Contents
Basics of Solid
Modeling 1
Surface modeling
3
Building blocks
for solids 4
Electrical design
models 4

Feature-based models
let designers define
features pertaining
to geometry as
well as to steps in
downstream analysis
and manufacturing.
Parametric modeling
is the term used to
describe the capturing
of design operations
as they take place,
as well as the editing
that takes place on the
design.

Presented by

Basics of
Solid Modeling 1

Surface
modeling 3

Building blocks
for solids 4

Electrical design
models 4

composed of individual features that describe

how the geometry is supposed to behave.
Early solid modelers were not based on
features. To put a hole through a part, for example, the designer might define a simple cylinder having the diameter of the desired hole
and which was long enough to go through the
part. Designers would then tell the software
to perform a Boolean difference operation
between the part and the cylinder. The result:
a hole in the part having the diameter of the
cylinder.
The problem with this scheme comes if
the part dimensions change. Suppose, for example, the designer later modifies the part and
makes it thicker. If the designer didnt happen
to make the cylinder long enough to extend
Many solid modelers include primitive and boundary representations.
through the new, thicker part, the result is the
In the primitive approach, the user combines elementary shapes in
model of a blind hole. In this case, the model
building-block fashion to create a new shape. Boolean logic commands,
captured the geometry the designer specified,
such as union, difference, and intersection, aid in forming new shapes.
but it did not capture the design intent of the
With boundary definitions, 2D surfaces get swept through space to trace
designer.
out volumes. Most packages provide several types of sweeps to help
A designer working in feature-based
create shapes.
software, on the other hand, would approach
the through-hole differently. The designer
would define a feature called a through-hole
such that no matter what the dimension of the part, the
is a constraint. It will further assume that it should preserve
hole extends all the way through it. In other words, once
this relationship throughout any model changes so the part
the topology of the design has been called out in terms of
maintains its original design intent.
features, any changes to the design always keep these features
Another advantage of the direct-modeling approach is
operational unless the designer specifies otherwise. Typically,
that the set of active constraints can change dramatically
the software prompts the user for inputs during the definition
depending on events during the construction of the model.
of the feature. These may include positional constraints,
For example, the system may capture constraints to support a
algebraic definitions, and other factors.
modification that can contradict constraints captured during
A related type of solid modeling scheme is parametric
an earlier design iteration. This can save time during model
modeling. A parametric modeler defines the part model in
creation compared to the parametric approach, where it is
terms of parameters. A simple parameter might be expressed
the user who must change the constraints. The process of
as an equation such as, (diameter) = 3 x (depth), or (width) =
changing constraints can be tedious and complex.
2 x sqrt(length). Parameters can also establish links between
Conversely, the benefit of using a parametric modeler is
parts as in an assembly model. An example might be a part
that the CAD system neednt guess at the constraints because
position with respect to a reference plane on another part.
the user spells them out. But the predictability of the CAD
Thus parametric CAD systems represent each geometrical
model then depends on the CAD user being skillful enough
and dimensional constraint in terms of a relationship among
to avoid difficulties that can arise because of too many or
two or more entities. When the designer changes a parameter
poorly defined constraints. There can also be issues when
(dimension), the CAD system propagates the change
one designer must modify a parametric model that another
throughout the entire solid model while maintaining the
designer created. Sometimes the complexity of the constraints
other constraint relationships.
can make design intent difficult to grasp.
Another type of solid modeler is a direct modeler. Here
High-level model quality problems can arise in all featurethe CAD system creates constraints on the fly; the user
based modelers. Typical problems include unintentional
creates no constraints. The advantage is that this approach
interactions among features. These interactions typically
more easily handles high-level changes to the solid model.
take the form of small cracks, knife edges, voids, and similar
For example, the CAD system might note that two nearby
artifacts between features. These effects not only cause
planar faces are parallel to each other. It may assume that this
problems in analysis software such as FEA, but also get worse
2

Basics of
Solid Modeling 1

if they pass over to another brand of CAD system where

feature history is lost.
Unfortunately, parametric models imported into a
different CAD system may come across without parameters,
features and design intent, even if the new CAD system
supports parametric modeling. Thus users of CAD systems
relying on parametric feature-based approaches generally must
remove and recreate different pieces of geometry that they
want to change through parameters and features.
Some direct modelers can work with previously created
parametric models. The resulting models and their changes
remain parametric and feature-based. Another advance is
the development of modelers that will associatively update
imported solid models when the original model changes in a
different CAD application.
Some modelers have whats called a flexible modeling
extension which works directly on geometry. It comes in
handy where a designer needs to make change on imported
geometry that has come in with no features, or on a model
created elsewhere and there is no time to figure out how the
model was built up. Flexible modelers include a facility for
recognizing patterns and symmetry within the model as a
means of adding intelligence. A user can pick the geometry
to be modified, for example, and drag it to new place. The
system then reattaches it to the model, with the automatic
addition of rounds if need be.
If the designer imports a file, a flexible modeler can
add intelligence to it through such measures as allowing

the designer to change a feature and then propagate it to all

instances in the model. If the designer changes a bolt pattern,
for example, the flexible modeler can put the new pattern in
all locations where the original resided.

Surface modeling

Building blocks
for solids 4

Electrical design
models 4

Surface
modeling 3

Prior to the advent of solid modeling, computerized

geometry models frequently took the form of wire frames.
Wire-frame models represent 3D part shapes with interconnected line elements. Wire frames are the simplest 3D
geometric representation, though not necessarily the easiest
to create. Some modeling programs still use a wire frame
data structure. The benefits are that wire-frame models
use little computer time and memory and provide precise
information about the location of surface discontinuities on
the part.
Wire frames, though, contain no information about
the surfaces themselves nor do they differentiate between
the inside and outside of objects. Thus, wire frames can be
ambiguous in representing complex physical structures and
often leave much interpretation to users.
Wire-frame models are created by specifying points and
lines in space. One commonly used approach to creating a
wire frame model divides the computer screen into sections
showing various model views. Designers draw lines to create
top, bottom, side, isometric, and other views of the model.
Designers need not manually draw each line in a wire frame.
Rather, the CAD package constructs the lines based on userspecified points and commands chosen
from an instruction menu.
It is important to remember, however,
that not all models that look like 3D wire
frames are wire-frame models. Some software lets users build isometric models that
appear to have Z-axis depth, but in reality
do not. This software is usually called
2-D software.
Although wire-frame models are the
simplest form of geometric model, the
term is sometimes associated with both
surface and solid modeling. Surface models define the outside part model precisely
and help produce NC machining instructions where the definition of the structure
boundaries is critical. However, surface
models represent only an envelope of
part geometry, even though tools such as
automated hidden-line removal make the
Surfaces available for geometric modeling range from a simple planes
model appear as a solid.
to complex sculptured surface. These surface usually are represented
Surface models, in turn, are created
as a set of ruled lines. The computer program recognizes these lines as
by connecting various types of surface elecontinuous surfaces. Users select surfaces types from a menu to model ments to user-specified lines. Typical CAD
individual details or fully envelope parts.
surface elements include planes, tabulated

Basics of
Solid Modeling 1

Surface
modeling 3

Building blocks
for solids 4

Electrical design
models 4

tation. There are many kinds of sculptured

surfaces, including curve-mesh, freeform,
B-spline, and cubic patch surfaces. Curves
need not even be parallel. The two curve
families intersect one another in crisscross
fashion, creating a network of interconnecting patches.

Building blocks for solids

Solid models can be constructed

from successive combinations of simple
geometric operations with primitives or
with boundary definitions. The primitive
approach lets elementary shapes such as
blocks and cylinders be combined in a
building-block fashion. Users position the
primitives and then create a new shape
with the proper Boolean command. With
boundary definitions, two-dimensional
surfaces are swept through space to trace
out volumes. A linear sweep translates the
surfaces in a straight line to produce an
extruded volume. A rotational sweep produces a part with axial symmetry, while a
compound sweep moves a surface through
a specified curve to generate a more complex solid.
Each of these construction methods
is good at handling a particular class of
A typical CAD package might create a wire frame model from points the shapes. Most industrial parts, for example,
consist of planar, cylindrical, or other simuser specifies.
ple shapes and are readily modeled with
primitives. But components with complex
cylinders, ruled surfaces, and surfaces of revolution along
contours such as automobile exhaust manifolds and turbine
with sweep, fillet, and sculptured surfaces. Of course, the
blades are more easily modeled with boundary definitions.
plane is the most basic surface type. The software merely creates a flat surface between two user-specified straight lines. A
Electrical design models
tabulated cylinder is the projection of a free-form curve into
CAD can be used to characterize entities such as electrithe third dimension. A ruled surface is produced between
cal panels and cabinets for controls. A CAD program looks
two different edge curves. The effect is a surface generated
at a control cabinet as an entity described by connections
by moving a straight line through space with the end points
between blocks representing physical functions such as
resting on the edge curves.
relays, terminal blocks, and circuit breakers. One kind of
A surface of revolution is created by revolving an arbiCAD for electrical cabinets typically takes the form of standtrary curve in a circle about an axis. This capability is useful
alone programs for drawing 2D schematics. Such programs
in modeling turned parts and parts with axial symmetry. The
generally also handle automation for PLC (programmable
sweep surface is an extension of the surface of revolution.
logic controller) wiring, terminal blocks, reporting, and so
Sweep curves, however, sweep an arbitrary curve through anon.
other arbitrary curve instead of a circle. The fillet surface is a
There are facilities for bringing 2D schematic electrical
cylindrical surface connecting to other surfaces in a smooth
design data into the 3D model. Once in the 3D model, the
transition. Previously, this was a tedious and manual process.
user can place components like motor starters, DIN rails,
But over time CAD has solved the problem with the precise
wiring ducts, and similar entities in enclosures. There are also
mathematical continuity required by many applications.
routing routines that handle such tasks as proposing alternate
Sculpted surfaces are the most complex surface represenways to route wires in 3D, handling component spacing, and
4

Basics of
Solid Modeling 1

Building blocks
for solids 4

segregating low-voltage wires from

those carrying high-voltage. Other
tasks normally conducted in 3D
electrical models include checking for
clearances, planning wiring paths, creating harnesses, and so forth. Changes
typically get linked back to the 2D
drawing for documentation.
Some programs for modeling
such entities use a data-flow programming approach as a representational
scheme. The key to data flow is that it
is a handy way of defining networks
of blackbox processes. These processes exchange data across predefined
connections. Data-flow programming gets its name from the
fact that application developers need only work with flows
of data through the connections rather than having to define
a sequence of commands as with conventional sequential
procedure code.
The first widely used data-flow program was the spreadsheet. Each cell in the spreadsheet can be considered a blackbox process. When any of those cells update, the first cells
value automatically recalculates. One change can initiate a
lengthy chain of changes when one cell depends on another
cell which in turn depends on yet another, and so forth.
But data flow is not just for recalculating numeric values
as in spreadsheets. The concept eventually expanded to let
drawn entities represent blackbox processes. Thus it can be
used to re-draw a picture as directed by mouse movements.
A graphical data-flow application becomes essentially a list
of connections which can be generated by a graphical tool.
Among the first such graphical data flow programs to become commercially available was the LabView program.

Surface
modeling 3

Modern CAD programs let

the user bring 2D schematic
electrical design data into
the 3D model. Once in the
3D model, the user can place
components like motor starters,
DIN rails, wiring ducts, and
similar entities in enclosures.
There are also routing routines
that handle such tasks as
proposing alternate ways to
route wires in 3D, handling
component spacing, and
segregating low-voltage wires
from those carrying highvoltage.

Electrical design
models 4

Graphical data-flow gives the user access to black-box

processes only through their connections. Also, blackbox
processes can be viewed as reusable components that dont
know the name of other black boxes with which they
communicate. Users can reconnect different black boxes
endlessly to form different applications without having to
change any of the blackboxes internally.
In the case of designing the contents of a control
cabinet, for example, the CAD program might view each
individual component mounted on a DIN rail as a blackbox
process. Connections between the control cabinet components dont affect their internal functions, only their states.
In IT lingo, the streams of data passing between black
boxes are called information packets, and the connections
through which they pass are bounded buffer connections.
Each process identifies its related connections by port
names, rather than directly. Typically, a connection engine
or scheduler routine relates port names to the real network
and drives the individual processes.