ChangeDegree

Changes the degree
of a curve or surface.

Steps:

  1. Select

    the objects.

  2. Type a degree value.

  3. For surfaces type values in the u- and v-directions
    .

Option

Deformable

If Yes, and the degree of the curve/surface is different from the requested degree
, the new curve/surface has simple interior knots.

If No, and the degree of the curve/surface is LESS than the requested degree, the new curve/surface will have exactly the same geometry and parameterization as the original, but it will have knots of multiplicity = old multiplicity + new degree – old degree.

If the degree of the curve/surface is GREATER than the requested degree, then the new curve/surface will be an approximation of the original with simple knots.

Notes

  • The ChangeDegree command changes the degree
    of the polynomial Rhino uses to create the curve. It keeps the knot
    structure of the curves the same, but it adds or subtracts control points

    between each knot span.

  • Often it is better to use InsertKnot
    and RemoveKnot
    instead of ChangeDegree, because you can add/remove control points more locally.

  • Increasing the degree of a surface can make the surface smoother by increasing the number of control points.

  • If you want the surface to have the same geometry, but more control points for editing, then try increasing the degree to 5 with the Deformable option set to No. In this case, you may want to consider using the InsertKnot
    command, which will add control points but leave the degree unchanged.

  • If you are going to export your geometry to another application, make every attempt to keep the degree of your surfaces low. In particular, many mechanical CAD systems cannot import surfaces that have degrees greater than 3.

  • The number of control points you add or subtract depends on the degree; the higher the degree, the greater the number of control points.

  • If you raise the degree of a surface, it will no longer be periodic. Use MakePeriodic
    to restore the periodicity of the surface.

  • Objects with higher degrees take longer to display and use more memory.

Rhinoceros changedegree Editing

Surface Tools > Change Surface Degree

Curve Tools > Change Degree

Rhinoceros Menu2 Editing

Edit > Change Degree

Rhinoceros Gray Book Open Editing Related topics…

InsertKnot

Inserts knots
in curves or surfaces.

Steps:

  1. Select

    the object.

  2. Pick a location point for the knot.

  3. Note: Inserting a knot
    in a surface also displays an isoparametric curve at the knot location if isoparametric curves
    are being displayed.

Options

Automatic

Adds a knot
/knotline halfway between existing knots to maintain as uniform a structure as possible.

Increases the knot density of a curve or surface to add more control points while maintaining an even knot distribution for better point pulling behavior.

Symmetrical

If Yes, knots are added on both sides of the center of the curve or surface.

Direction

Specify the u-direction
, the v-direction
, or both.

Toggle

Toggles the direction
between u and v.

Rhinoceros insertknot Editing

Point Editing > Insert Knot

Organic > Insert Knot

Rhinoceros Menu2 Editing

Edit > Control Points > Insert Knot

Rhinoceros Gray Book Open Editing Related topics…

RemoveKnot

Deletes knots
from a curve or surface.

See Also: RemoveMultiKnotSrf

Steps:

  1. Select

    a curve or surface.

  2. Click the knot to remove and press Enter

    .

  3. Note: Remove knot
    can be used to remove the connecting joint between two joined curves. The resulting curve will not Explode
    into separate parts.

Option

Direction

Specify the u-direction
, the v-direction
, or both.

Rhinoceros removeknot Editing

Point Editing > Remove Knot

Organic > Remove Knot

Rhinoceros Menu2 Editing

Edit > Control Points > Remove Knot

Rhinoceros Gray Book Open Editing Related topics…

InsertControlPoint

Adds control points
in a curve or a row of control points on a surface.

Steps:

  1. Select

    a curve or surface.

  2. Pick

    a location for the control point or control point row.

  3. Note: Inserting control points affects the shape of the curve or surface. The InsertKnot
    command does not change the curve or surface shape.

Options

Direction (U V)

Changes the direction
of the control points.

Toggle

Toggles the direction
of the control points.

Extend

Extends the surface by half the distance from the end of the surface to the next control points.

Midpoint

Places the control point mid way between two control points.

Rhinoceros insertcontrolpoint Editing

Surface Tools > Insert a control point

Curve Tools > Insert a control point

Rhinoceros Menu2 Editing

Edit > Control Points > Insert Control Point

Rhinoceros Gray Book Open Editing Related topics…

RemoveControlPoint

Removes control points
from a curve or a row of control points from a surface.

Steps:

  1. Select

    a curve or surface.

  2. Move the cursor to a point where until control points highlight and click.

  3. Note: Removing control points affects the shape of the curve or surface.

Rhinoceros removecontrolpoint Editing

Surface Tools > Remove a control point

Curve Tools > Remove a control point

Rhinoceros Menu2 Editing

Edit > Control Points > Remove Control Point

Rhinoceros Gray Book Open Editing Related topics…

InsertEditPoint

Adds edit points
to a curve.

Steps:

  1. Select

    a curve.

  2. The edit points are displayed on the selected curve.

  3. Pick

    a location point on the curve.

Rhinoceros InsertEditPoint Editing

Point Editing > Insert Edit Point (Right click)

Organic > Insert Edit Point (Right click)

Rhinoceros Menu2 Editing

Edit > Control Points > Insert Edit Point

Rhinoceros Gray Book Open Editing Related topics…

InsertKink

Adds kinks
in a curve.

Steps:

  1. Select

    the curve.

  2. Pick locations where you want to insert a kink
    .

  3. Press Enter

    to end the command.

  4. The curve is split into multiple joined curves.

Rhinoceros insertkink Editing

Point Editing > Insert Kink

Rhinoceros Menu2 Editing

Edit > Control Points > Insert Kink

Rhinoceros Gray Book Open Editing Related topics…

MoveUVN

Moves selected surface control points along the surface u-, v-, and normal directions.

Options

U/V/N

Moves a control point in the u-, v-,
or normal
direction.

Scale

Sets the scale of the sliders in Rhino units.

UV Move mode

Along tangent

The u- and v-sliders move the points in a plane that is roughly tangent to the surface.

Along control polygon

The u- and v-sliders move the points along control polygon chords.

U Symmetry/V Symmetry

Makes it possible to edit two sides of a symmetrical surface at the same time. You must select all points to edit.

Smoothing

Use smoothing before MoveUVN to make it possible to combine the actions. Smoothing tends to even out the control point grid, and the other controls can be used for making small changes to the shape.

Rhinoceros moveuvn Editing

Point Editing > Move UVN

Rhinoceros Menu2 Editing

None

Rhinoceros Gray Book Open Editing Related topics…

MakePeriodic

Makes a non-periodic curve or surface periodic.

Steps:

  • Select

    the objects.

  • This command changes a non-periodic surface or curve into a periodic surface
    or curve
    . Periodic surfaces and curves deform smoothly without kinks
    .

Notes

  • If a joined curve is made periodic, it becomes a single-span curve and can no longer explode.

  • Use the Properties
    command, Details page to check whether or not a curve is closed and periodic.

Rhinoceros makeperiodic Editing

Surface Tools > Make Surface Periodic

Curve Tools > Make Periodic

Rhinoceros Menu2 Editing

Edit > Make Periodic

Rhinoceros Gray Book Open Editing Related topics…

MakeNonPeriodic

Makes a periodic curve or surface non-periodic.

Steps:

  • Select

    the objects.

  • The MakeNonPeriodic command changes a periodic surface
    or curve into a non-periodic surface or curve. Non-periodic surfaces and curves
    can develop kinks
    when deformed.

Rhinoceros MakeNonPeriodic Editing

Surface Tools > Make Surface Non-Periodic (Right click)

Curve Tools > Make Non-Periodic (Right click)

Rhinoceros Menu2 Editing

None

Rhinoceros Gray Book Open Editing Related topics…

Weight

Edits the weight of a curve or surface control point.

The weight of a control point determines how much the curve or surface is attracted to the control point. The higher the value of the weight, the closer the curve or surface is to the control point.

Warning:

If you are exporting to another application, it is best to leave all control point weights at 1.

Steps:

  • Use the slider to adjust the weight of the selected control points.

Examples

Weight=1

Rhinoceros weight 001 Editing

Weight=0.5

Rhinoceros weight 003 Editing

Weight=10

Rhinoceros weight 002 Editing

Rhinoceros weight Editing

Point Editing > Edit Control Point Weight

Rhinoceros Menu2 Editing

Edit > Control Points > Edit Weight

Rhinoceros Gray Book Open Editing Related topics…

Editing