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Rational Surfaces with Rational Offsets and Their Applications to Blending Constructions

May 31, 2007
Abstract
A surface offsetting operation in CAGD (Computer Aided Geometric Design) involves sophisticated approximation techniques, since an offset of a general rational surface is not rational. On the other hand, a class of rational surfaces with rational offsets (PN-surfaces) includes main primitive surfaces in CAGD: i.e. natural quadrics (sphere, circular cylinders and cones), torus, and also their generalizations: Dupin cyclides and rational canal surfaces. Therefore, it is important to understand what geometric modeling constructions are possible if only PN-surfaces are used, and what is their lowest parametrization degree. We follow Laguerre geometric approach to the theory of PN-surfaces and use a universal rational parametrization of the Blaschke cylinder. This allows us to generate new low degree analytic solutions for PN-surface blendings between the following pairs: plane/natural quadric, two natural quadrics and natural quadric/Dupin cyclide. Applications will be illustrated by recent implementations in a commercial CAD software package.