Feature Request: G3 MatchSrf

[vcruzdesigns (Vince)]

Basically what the title says; it would be nice to have the ability to match to G3 continuity (also known as jerk, flow or acceleration continuity) using the MatchSrf command.

Sky’s argument from this post is more of a functional one, in that matching to G3 makes it easier to match to G2.

My argument is more about aesthetics: it seems that Apple uses G3 curves for the transitional surfaces of their products, and I’ve noticed that flow continuous surfaces just look good (when done right of course).

I realize the maths behind NURBS matching is complex and thus potentially quite difficult to implement, but I’ll say that whenever I’ve used BlendCrv to create G3 transitional srfs, there’s a subtle difference between G2 and G3 that makes the extra effort worth it in my opinion. But, perhaps I’m biased or lying to myself because I’m a fan of Apple’s design

A while ago, I referenced their Accessory Design guideline document to recreate a curve that, I think, is close to the exact curve used on the iPhone 13 Pro:

For anyone curious:
Figuring out G3 Apple iPhone 13 Pro Corner.3dm (187.5 KB)

[JimCarruthers]

@vcruzdesigns

My argument is more about aesthetics: it seems that Apple uses G3 curves for the transitional surfaces of their products, and I’ve noticed that flow continuous surfaces just look good (when done right of course).

Apple doesn’t use anything as prosaic as “MatchSrf,” everything is brute-force point-edited for days until it’s perfect.

The reason not to match beyond beyond G2 is that there are already an INFINITE number of possible G2 combinations, nevermind what actually looks “good,” and G3 just complicates that. You can see that with the blend tools that can do G3 and G4 and…it’s pointless. It’s mathematically smoother but a trivial result. Getting the shape you want is almost unrelated to getting it “nailed down” as technically G2 or whatever your production processes required.