In this section we will explain purpose and use of the curve tools available.
A curve can be defined as the path of a point moving through space. solidThinking lets you draw curves by placing control points. Since they are just lines, they are not rendered even though they are the basis for any 3D geometry.
Curves have only one dimension in space: it is called U and it corresponds to the length of the curve.
Once you have drawn a curve, you have a number of options to modify parameters and/or apply new commands. Each parameter/command can be modified/applied by working in the views only, in the Modeling Tool panel, or in both Views and Modeling Tool panel.
For each parameter/command we will mention all the possibilities as follows:
Views: steps to follow allow you to work interactively with the mouse in the views only;
Modeling Tool panel: steps to follow allow you to work in the Modeling Tool panel only;
Views / Modeling Tool panel: steps to follow require you to work in both views and Modeling Tool panel.
You can constrain insertion of control points along one axis by enabling only one the following icons in the Application toolbar:
To insert along the X-axis only (shortcut is the X key).
To insert along the Y-axis only (shortcut is the Y key).
To insert along the Z-axis only (shortcut is the Z key).
To constrain insertion of control points of the selected items along XY, XZ, or YZ planes, just select two of the above icons at a time. Leave all the three icons selected if you want to freely insert points.