Advanced Graphics Programming Using OpenGL

CHAPTER 16

CAD and Modeling Techniques

In previous chapters, many of the underlying principles for faithful rendering of models have been described. In this chapter, we extend those techniques with additional algorithms that are particularly useful or necessary for interactive modeling applications such as those used for computer-aided design (CAD). The geometric models use complex representations such as NURBS surfaces and geometric solids that are typically converted to simpler representations for display. Representations for even relatively simple real-world objects can involve millions of primitives. Displaying and manipulating large models both efficiently and effectively is a considerable challenge. Besides the display of the model, CAD ...