Offset Curve

An Offset is offset from the original, parent curve. It lies in the same plane as its parent, and is normal to the original.

Curve used to create an offset curve

Reference

When you turn on the Offset button, or while an offset curve sub-object is selected, a rollout with the offset Distance parameter appears.

Distance: The distance between the parent curve and the offset curve, in 3DS MAX units.

How To

To create an offset curve:

1. In a NURBS object that contains at least one curve, turn on Offset.
2. Click the curve you want to offset, and drag to set the initial distance.

3DS MAX creates the offset curve.

The parent curve must define a plane. If the parent is in three dimensions, or if it is linear, 3DS MAX doesn’t create the offset.

3. Adjust the Distance parameter.

If the parent curve is not linear, increasing the distance increasingly exaggerates the curvature of the offset curve.

Note: You can't create an offset curve if the degree of the original curve is 4 or greater.