HAL@cc.usu.edu (05/24/90)
Help: Given a possibly curved surface defined by a set of points in three dimensions, how do I find it's _real_ shape? I can define what I mean by real shape best by example: given a cone made of paper, cut the cone from the open end to the point, unrole it and lay it flat on a table, look at it from above perpendiclar to the table top, thats what I mean. The surface obeys the following rules: 1. No compound curves. 2. no folds 3. can be constructed by cutting and bending a piece of paper. We have a cad program on our IBM mainframe that can do this. I would like to do this on my 386 pc or my Unix workstation. What I need: An algorithm for doing the above. A source for such an algorithm. Or best of all PD software or a pointer to PD software. Thanx hal