Functionally based virtual embossing

Embossing is the art of decorating metals in relief from the reverse side. This article describes how virtual embossing can be done using a functionally based representation of the metal plate and the tools. The program is implemented as an interactive shape modeler where a functional model of the metal plate is subsequently modified with offset and set-theoretic operations. For visualization, interactive ray tracing is used. Bounding boxes together with the spatial organization of the functional model provide the required fast function evaluation that is usually a bottleneck for functionally based shape modeling systems. The program runs on a personal computer.