In this article, we are going to look at one very mysterious AutoCAD Object – AutoCAD Splines and try to make working with them easier for us all!
For better understanding, we will be looking at different examples of How to draw Spline and their best uses.
When triggered SPLINE, the software creates a smooth curve that passes through or near points we choose on the screen. By default, splines are a series of blended cubic curve segments. They are called non-uniform rational B-splines (NURBS), but we are calling them Splines in short. According to Autodesk’s site, cubic splines most closely represent the line created by using flexible strips that are shaped by weights at data points (About Splines).
To draw a Spline type on the command line SPL, by default AutoCAD will display Current settings: Method=Fit Knots=Uniform and ask us to Specify first point or [Method/Knots/Object]: Here we can either start drawing, using the current settings or choose a different setting. Let’s see what are the different options we have:
When we select the Method setting, AutoCAD gives us two options Enter spline creation method [Fit/CV] : in other words create spline using Fit Points or using Control Vertices.
The Fit points method creates blended Cubic curves (degree 3) by specifying fit points that curvature must pass through or if the tolerance value is greater than 0, the spline within the specified tolerance from each specified point.
There are several specific settings for using the Fit method:
The Control Vertices method creates linear (degree 1), quadratic (degree 2), cubic (degree 3), and up to degree 10 splines. (SPLMETHOD system variable)
When we choose the Object setting, AutoCAD will ask us to select 2D or 3D quadratic or cubic spline-fit Polyline to convert to SPLINE.
Note: By default, the original polyline will be erased, to save the polyline change the DELOBJ system variable to 0.
If you found this information useful. Don’t forget to check our other AutoCAD Tips for more great Tips and Tricks just like this one!
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