Part Modeling > Creo Flexible Modeling > Patterning Creo Flexible Modeling Geometry > About Patterns in Flexible Modeling > About Projecting Pattern Members onto a Surface in Creo Flexible Modeling
About Projecting Pattern Members onto a Surface in Creo Flexible Modeling
In fill, curve and point patterns, the sketch that defines the pattern lies on a flat plane, while the surface onto which the pattern members are projected might not be flat. To accurately align the pattern members when they are projected onto the surface, the pattern leader and the sketch plane should be tangent to the projection surface. If the sketch plane and pattern leader are not tangent to the surface, then pattern members will follow the surface and curve according to the selected orientation type. Pattern members that cannot be projected onto the surface are removed from the pattern. On a sphere, pattern members are projected only until the “equator”.
To space pattern members on the surface, the following options are available:
As projected—Projects the pattern leader and pattern members straight onto the surface.
Map to Surface Space—Projects the pattern leader straight onto the surface. The remaining pattern members are mapped from the sketch plane to the surface space so that the spacing on the surface matches the spacing in the sketch. This option produces more even member spacing when the sketch or template uses equal spacing. It works best for pattern members located near the pattern leader. It is available only for solid surfaces.
When you map members to a spherical surface in a fill pattern with a circle or spiral template, the pattern leader becomes the pole location of the sphere. The number of pattern members is reduced automatically in the region beyond the equator to maintain the surface spacing.
Map to Surface UV Space—Projects the pattern leader straight onto the surface. Maps the remaining pattern members from the sketch to the uv-space of the surface based on their xy-coordinates relative to the first member in the sketching plane.
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To create an evenly-spaced pattern, surface uv-lines must be evenly spaced.
At the pole of a sphere, uv-line densities are infinite and you cannot map to them.
The uv-lines do not extend past the surface boundaries. Therefore, a region of the surface that is separated from the pattern leader by a boundary is not populated by pattern members.