The Patches menu contains functions that generate panels, patches that lie in panels, and grids that lie in patches. The next logical step is to use NURBS > Fit Surfaces, which generates a NURBS surface based on grids.
Definition of Panels, Patches, and Grids
A panel is an area of low curvature, demarcated by orange contour lines that trace the highest angularity on a surface. An object will be subdivided into a number of panels.
A patch is a four-sided subdivision of a panel that is approximately equilateral. The patches that comprise a panel may differ in size. Patches are the containers for grids.
A contour patch is a special elongated patch that lies on an area of high curvature. A contour patch is special in that it does not live in a panel. Like a regular patch, a contour patch is a container for grids.
A grid is an m-by-n set of rectangles that is placed into each patch. The values of m and n and the size of the patch contribute to the ultimate density of the grid. (If a patch is relatively large, a grid of m-by-n appears to be sparse. If a patch is relatively small, a grid of m-by-n appears to be dense.) In some cases, m and n are equal.
The grid, in turn, contributes to the precision of the ultimate NURBS surface. Therefore, the density of the grid and the size of the patch contribute to the precision of the NURBS surface.
Construct Patches - converts orange contour lines
and red boundary lines to panel demarcation lines, subdivides those panels
with additional orange demarcation lines if necessary to facilitate the
insertion of four-sided patches, and inserts four-sided patches into each
panel. If run on an object with yellow (extendable) and orange (unextendable)
contour lines, it extends the yellow lines to form contour patches and
fills the remaining surface with regular patches.
Relax Patches - is a pair of functions that force the patch mesh to conform to the original polygon surface.
Shuffle - is a pair of functions (Shuffle Panels and Shuffle Patches) that allow the rearrangement of patches within a panel.
Zip
Patch Layers - removes or subdivides an entire row of patches.
When a layer is removed, the surrounding rows zip themselves together
and cover the empty area.
Edit Patches - modifies the paths of individual
patches to create a more effective patch layout.
Repair Patches - steps through problematic regions
of a patch layout for inspection and repair.
Relax Intersecting Paths - removes contour lines that cause two patches to share a single location.
Unfix All Vertices - unfixes any vertices you fixed previously.
Resample Patches - increases the default of 10 vertices per side of every patch, which in turn increases the default grid density of Grids > Construct Grids.
Draw Patch Layout - allows the manual construction
of patches.
Patch Template - is a set of functions for the re-use of a patch structure on similar Shape objects.
Create Curve Object - converts the panel layout (not the patch layout) to a Curves Object in the Model Manager.
Remove - is a set of functions that remove things from the active Shape object, usually so you can start over with patch layout.