METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAXIMIZING THE LENGTH OF STRAIGHT LINE SEGMENTS APPROXIMATING A CURVE

摘要

In a system having a rotational axis and a radial axis, a method and apparatus is disclosed for maximizing the length of straight line segments approximating a curve while maintaining the approximation within a predefined tolerance of the desired curve, in accordance with the formula: DELTA theta = theta T 2ROOT E/RT , where DELTA theta IS THE LENGTH IN NUMBER OF STEPS ALONG THE ROTATIONAL AXIS OF SUCCESSIVE STRAIGHT LINE APPROXIMATIONS OF THE CURVE, RT is the total number of steps to be taken along the radial axis for a given curve, theta T is the total number of steps to be taken along the rotational axis for a given curve, and E is the maximum error in steps along the radial axis between a given curve and the approximated curve.