Create an optimized spline by duplicating an existing spline, then removing the "unneeded" nodes from it. The new spline created will only use the nodes that are needed to hold a tolerance, which you specify, to the original spline, reducing the amount of data and time that is required to represent curves and surfaces.
When working with digitized data, you are given many extra node points on a spline that are unnecessary. A small number of nodes may be required to accurately define the shape of the spline. SURFCAM's Optimize command can drastically reduce the amount of RAM needed, and more importantly, the amount of time required to process a spline. This time savings is greatly amplified when a surface is constructed from an optimized spline.
Since the new spline will be almost identical to the old one, it is highly recommended that before a spline is optimized, you set both the color and layer parameters (in the Status menu) to settings different from those in the original spline so you can distinguish easily between the new spline and the original spline.