# IBM Visualization Data Explorer User's Reference

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### RubberSheet

Category

Realization

Function

Deforms a surface, using the data values of that surface.

Syntax

    graph = RubberSheet(data, scale, min, max);

Inputs

Name | Type | Default | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
`data` | scalar field | none | the field defining the surface to be deformed.
`scale` | scalar | input dependent | displacement scaling
`min` | scalar or field | 0.0 | offset to be applied to the surface data values
`max` | scalar or field | maximum data value | value used for setting the maximum displacement

Outputs

Name | Type | Description
--- | --- | ---
`graph` | scalar field | the deformed field

Functional Details

This module takes a specified scalar surface or line field and displaces each point by an amount based on the data value at that point, as follows:

    displacement = scale × (data - min)

(see parameter descriptions).

`data` | specifies the surface to be deformed.
`scale` | is the scale factor used in calculating the displacement. If this parameter is not specified, the module provides a scale factor calculated as follows:
    scale =  (0.1 * diagonal of data boundary box) ÷ (max - min)
If `min` is a field, the value used is the minimum data value of that field. The resulting scale factor is attached to the output object as a "RubberSheet scale" attribute (which can be extracted with the Attribute module).
`min` | is the offset applied to the data values before they are scaled.
`max` | is used to determine a scale factor according to the formula shown above, if `scale` is not specified.

Notes:

1. If the input data have no "normals" component (e.g., the output of Slab), the perpendicular to the first element is used as the displacement direction. In that case, for a positive scale factor and a positive data value, the surface is displaced in the direction given by the right-hand rule applied to the connections at the surface (i.e., with the thumb representing the direction of displacement and the fingers following the order of points in the connections).

2. If the input does have a "normals" component, the displacement at the surface is determined by the dependencies of the data and of the normals:
   - If both the data and the normals are position dependent, the surface is displaced in the direction of the normal at each point.
   - If both are connection dependent, each face of the input is displaced as a whole in the direction indicated by the normal for that face. The amount of displacement is proportional to the data value for that face. Additional sides are added to each displaced face to complete the "box"; box sides are not shared between neighboring faces.
   - If the data are position dependent and the normals are connection dependent, each face is displaced in the direction indicated by the normal for that face, but the amount of displacement varies across the face in proportion to the data value. Additional sides are added to each displaced face to complete the "box"; box sides are not shared between neighboring faces.
   - If the data are dependent on connections and the normals are dependent on positions, the displaced faces will be parallel to the original faces, displaced by an amount proportional to the data value for that face. Additional sides are added to each displaced face to complete the "box"; box sides of neighboring faces are coincident.

3. If the input data are 1- or 2-dimensional, an additional dimension is added in the resulting graph.

4. If no colors are present, the module adds a default color.

5. RubberSheet automatically adds shading to the output `graph`.

Components

Creates new "positions" and "connections" components. All other components, with the exception of "normals," are propagated to the output.

Example Visual Programs

    AlternateVisualizations.net
    RubberTube.net
    ThunderGlyphSheet.net
    UsingSwitchAndRoute.net
    SIMPLE/Rubbersheet.net

See Also

FaceNormals, MapToPlane, Normals, Slab

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