Patent ID: 7149665

Claim:
A method for designing a wear article for an object, the method comprising: providing a virtual three-dimensional model of the object, including first data representing three dimensions of the object; providing at least one virtual pattern representing at least a portion of the wear article; assembling the at least one virtual pattern into a virtual three-dimensional wear article, the virtual three-dimensional wear article including second data representing three dimensions of the wear article; associating a material type with one of the at least one virtual pattern and the virtual three-dimensional wear article, the material type having third data representing at least one physical property of the material type; simulating the fit of the virtual three-dimensional wear article on the virtual three-dimensional model by: comparing the first and second data to determine non-intersection of the virtual three-dimensional wear article with the virtual three-dimensional object; and causing the virtual three-dimensional wear article to conform to the virtual three-dimensional model within constraints imposed by the third data.