Extract Points from Curve

Used to graphically and numerically evaluate the attributes of a B-spline curve (tangents, curvatures, and inflection points) at given locations on the curve. There are five ways to define locations on a curve.

You can access this tool from the following:

Ribbon: Modeling > Curves > Curve Utilities
Toolbox: Curve Utilities

Computed points and tangents, which are placed as elements in the design, can be used as reference points or reference lines for other purposes. Curvature displays indicate the slopes change as you traverse the B-spline. Flatter curves thus are indicated graphically with shorter lines. For example, straight lines have zero curvatures.

Below is an example of Extract Points from Curve results specifying node points. Note that the number of node points is equal to the number of knots.

By changing the number of points, the data may be viewed in a variety of pictorial formats.

Note that increasing the number of points in the Curvature Plot and changing the Curvature Plot Scale, this image clearly shows the first derivative.

Setting	Description
Location(s) Input By	Sets the manner in which the locations on the surface are defined. Enter Data Point — Interactively define a single location on the curve. Parameter — Using the Parameter Value setting, the value, which must be in the range 0–1, specifies the location from the domain to map to the displayed object. The domain is from 0.0 to 1.0. Node Points — These are the points on the curve calculated by evaluating it at the knots parameters. Node points represent the joints between the Bézier segments of a B-spline composed of Bézier segments separated by knots. Dist[ance] Along Curve — Using the Dist From Start setting, you can extract an attribute at a particular distance along the curve. (%) Dist[ance] Along Curve — Using the Dist From Start(%) setting, the value is a percentage of the total length of the curve. For example, to extract the tangent direction of a curve at its middle point, set Dist. From Start(%) to 50 (for 50% of the distance of the total curve length). Point Array — Using the Number of Points setting, the value is the number of evenly spaced locations on the curve. For example, to evaluate at 20 evenly spaced locations on the curve, set Number of Points to 20.
Tangent Plot Scale	Sets the scale factor applied to the magnitude display. If set to 1.0, the extracted tangent is the true derivative vector — that is, the tangent direction with the magnitude.
Curvature Plot Scale	Sets the scale factor applied to the line segments that represent curvature vectors in Curvature Plot output. If set to 1.0, the true curvature vector is displayed. The curvature value is the length of this vector. The radius of curvature is equal to one divided by the curvature. For a straight line, the radius of curvature is infinity since its curvature is zero.
Perpendicular Circle Radius	Sets the radius of the perpendicular circles in Perpendicular Circles output.
Parameter Value	(Location(s) Input By set to Parameter) Sets the parameter value applicable to the Parameter option for defining locations on the curve.
Dist[ance] From Start	(Location(s) Input By set to Dist Along Curve) Sets the distance value applicable to the Dist Along Curve option for defining locations on the curve.
Dist[ance] From Start(%)	(Location(s) Input By set to (%) Dist Along Curve) Sets the distance value applicable to the (%) Dist Along Curve option for defining locations on the curve.
Number of Points	(Location(s) Input By set to Point Array) Sets the numeric value applicable to the Point Array option for defining locations on the curve.
[Compute] Points	If on, the points on the curve at which evaluation is performed are displayed in the output.
[Compute] Tangents	If on, the curve's tangents are computed.
[Compute] Curvature Plot	If on, the curve's curvature plot is computed.
[Compute] Inflection Points	If on, the curve's inflection points are computed. Inflection points are where the curve changes concavity.
[Compute] Perpendicular Circles	If on, the curve's perpendicular circles are computed.

Key-in: EVALUATE CURVE

Note: This tool can also be used to evaluate lines, arcs, and ellipses.