Editing Wire-frame model (section)

{{Short description|Representation of a 3D object with only its edges rendered}}
{{About|the 3D visualization|the web design technique|Website wireframe}}
{{Refimprove|date=April 2013}}
[[File:Wire frame.svg|thumb|200px|Sample rendering of a wire-frame [[cube (geometry)|cube]], [[icosahedron]], and approximate [[sphere]]]]
[[File:Obj lineremoval.png|thumb|200px|Image of a wire-frame object, using [[hidden-line removal]]]]
[[File:النموذج السلكي.jpg|thumb|200px|Perspective shown in a wire-frame representation of an architectural project]]
[[File:Wireframe Render of Digital Clothing Bathingrobe 3D Model.jpg|thumb|Wireframe render of a complex 3D model representing a bathing robe<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cgelves.com/wireframe-renders-of-3d-models/|title=Wireframe Renders of 3D Models - CG Elves|date=26 December 2015}}</ref>]]
{{3D computer graphics}}

In [[3D computer graphics]], a '''wire-frame model''' (also spelled '''wireframe model''') is a visual representation of a [[three-dimensional]] (3D) physical object. It is based on a [[polygon mesh]] or a [[volumetric mesh]], created by specifying each [[Edge (geometry)|edge]] of the physical object where two mathematically continuous smooth surfaces meet, or by connecting an object's constituent [[Vertex (computer graphics)|vertices]] using (straight) [[straight line|line]]s or [[Curve (geometry)|curves]]. 

The object is projected into [[screen space]] and [[rendering (computer graphics)|rendered]] by drawing lines at the location of each edge. The term "wire frame" comes from designers using [[metal wire]] to represent the three-dimensional shape of solid objects. 3D wireframe computer models allow for the construction and manipulation of solids and solid surfaces. 3D [[solid modeling]] efficiently draws higher quality representations of solids than conventional [[Line art|line drawing]].

Using a wire-frame model allows for the visualization of the underlying design structure of a 3D model. Traditional two-dimensional views and drawings/renderings can be created by the appropriate rotation of the object, and the selection of [[hidden-line removal]] via [[clip plane|cutting planes]].

Since wire-frame renderings are relatively simple and fast to calculate, they are often used in cases where a relatively high screen [[frame rate]] is needed (for instance, when working with a particularly complex [[3D model]], or in [[real-time computing|real-time systems]] that model [[Exterior (topology)|exterior]] phenomena). 

When greater graphical detail is desired, surface [[texture mapping|textures]] can be added automatically after the completion of the initial rendering of the wire frame. This allows a designer to quickly review solids, or rotate objects to different views without the long delays associated with more realistic [[rendering (computer graphics)|rendering]], or even the processing of faces and simple [[flat shading]].

The wire frame format is also well-suited and widely used in programming [[tool paths]] for [[direct numerical control]] (DNC) [[machine tools]].

Hand-drawn wire-frame-like illustrations date back as far as the [[Italian Renaissance]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Nasifoglu|first=Yelda|title=Renaissance wireframe|url=https://f12arch531project.wordpress.com/2012/11/06/renaissance-wireframe/|work=Architectural Intentions from Vitruvius to the Renaissance Studio Project for ARCH 531|date=7 November 2012|publisher=McGill University|access-date=11 March 2013}}</ref> Wire-frame models were also used extensively in [[video game]]s to represent 3D objects during the 1980s and early 1990s, when "properly" filled 3D objects would have been too complex to calculate and draw with the computers of the time. Wire-frame models are also used as the input for [[computer-aided manufacturing]] (CAM).

There are three main types of 3D [[computer-aided design]] (CAD) models; ''wire frame'' is the most abstract and least realistic. The other types are ''[[surface]]'' and ''solid''. The wire-frame method of modelling consists of only lines and curves that connect the points or vertices and thereby define the edges of an object.