Curve to Surface (CVSF)

The curve to surface joint provides five degrees of freedom: three rotational at the instantaneous point of contact and two translational DOF.

In order to completely specify a curve to surface joint, the following entities must first be created:
  • 3D reference curve.
  • A 3D reference surface.
  • A marker that belongs to Body 1 of the joint and is located appropriately so that the curve entity can be meaningfully described as belonging to the coordinate system of the reference marker.
  • A marker that belongs to Body 2 of the joint and is located appropriately so that the surface entity can be meaningfully described as belonging to the coordinate system of the reference marker.

  1. If the Advanced Joint panel is not currently displayed, select the desired advanced joint by clicking on it in the Model Browser or in the modeling window.
    The Advanced Joint panel is automatically displayed.
  2. Click the Ref Marker 1 collector and select the surface reference marker that belongs to Body 1 from the modeling window, or double-click the collector to open the Model Tree (from which the desired marker can be selected).
  3. Click the Ref Marker 2 collector and select the surface reference marker that belongs to Body 2 from the modeling window or the Model Tree.
    The Body collectors are automatically updated.
  4. Click the Curve collector and select the curve of origin for the joint and the marker on Body 1 (which is constrained to the curve on Body 1).
  5. Click the Surface collector and select the surface of origin for the joint and the marker on Body 2 (which is constrained to the surface on Body 2).
  6. Click the Initial Conditions tab.
  7. Select the User Initial Condition Marker check boxes and select the desired markers using the Marker collectors.
    The default initial condition markers for the curve/surface are the reference markers that are specified in the Connectivity tab.
  8. Select the Use XYZ check boxes and enter the initial position values into the X, Y, and Z fields to specify an initial position for the curve/surface.
    Note: These values will supersede those specified by the Curve and Surface collectors in the Connectivity tab.