Glossary

baseface

face which has rings (i.e. inner face boundaries, e.g. for holes)

B-rep mesh

data structure that defines the shape of a 3D model by its "boundary representation" and contains vertices, edges, and faces in addition to information about the relationship among themselves

corner vertex

connection point between three or more sharp edges

crease edge

sharp edge in a otherwise smooth face

crease vertex

connection point between two sharp edges and an arbitrary number of smooth edges

dangling vertex

vertex which belongs only to one edge

dart vertex

connection point between one sharp edge and an arbitrary number of smooth edges

edge

element of a B-rep mesh which connects two vertices and belongs to up to two faces

edge marker

colored arrow in the 3D Model Preview panel of the qME Modeling Environment to highlight a halfedge

euler operators

closed and complete set of operators for mesh manipulation which – at any time – leave a topologically correct B-rep mesh

face

element of a B-rep mesh which is bounded by edges

generative modeling

method of generating 3D models algorithmically which are then represented by "lists of operations" rather than by lists of objects

halfedge

unique combination of one vertex and one face which refers to a unique position in the B-rep mesh

hole

opening in or through a face or a solid body

homogenous coordinates

system of coordinates used in projective geometry, extending standard coordinates by adding an extra dimension

mate

halfedges of the same edge are mates

model code

source code generating a 3D model

model format

output format of a generated 3D model

polygonal surface

flat surface that can have rings (i.e. inner face boundaries, e.g. for holes); boundaries are defined by vertices and their connecting sharp edges

ring

inner face boundary of a baseface, e.g. for holes

shell

outer boundary of a 3D model

smooth vertex

connection point between only smooth edges

subdivision surface

free form surface which is defined by a control mesh

vertex

connection point between edges