Paraboloid

The Paraboloid command creates a paraboloidal structure.

To access this command, go to Draw > Wire Grid / Solid Surface > Paraboloid in the main menu, which opens the Draw dialog box for the Paraboloid. The dialog box comprises three pages: Paraboloid, Attributes, and Materials, as detailed in Fig. 1.

The Paraboloid page

On the Paraboloid page, you can set the geometrical parameters for the Paraboloid. You’ll find a combo-box with two options: Curved segments and Straight segments. Choose Curved segments for an exact representation of the paraboloid’s curvature, while the Straight segments option provides an approximation using linear wires.

The Paraboloid is defined by specifying the Vertex coordinates, Focal Distance, Aperture Radius, and orientation angles, Theta and Phi. These parameters uniquely define the paraboloid’s curved surface, as shown in Fig. 2.

After setting the geometrical parameters on the Paraboloid page, you can move on to the Attributes page. Here, you can specify the number of facets for the Paraboloid and choose whether it should be a wire grid or a solid surface. See Grid/Surface Attributes for additional parameters in the Attributes page and Wire Materials for parameters in the Materials page.