Zebra Tool¶
In one sentence: Displays a zebra stripe pattern on selected faces to visually detect surface continuity — G0 shows broken stripes, G1 shows continuous, G2 shows kink-free.
Third-party addon — installation required
The Curves workbench is not included in FreeCAD. Install it via Tools → Addon Manager → search "Curves" → Install and restart FreeCAD.
Overview¶
Workbench: Curves
Menu: Surfaces → Zebra Tool
Command: ZebraTool
Zebra stripes are rendered as if reflected from an infinite striped light source. They are the standard visual technique for detecting continuity discontinuities at surface junctions.
Reading the stripe pattern¶
| Pattern at junction | Continuity level |
|---|---|
| Stripes align but are broken (step at junction) | G0 (position only) |
| Stripes align and are continuous | G1 (tangent) |
| Stripes align, continuous, and kink-free | G2 (curvature) |
Parameters¶
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Stripe width | Controls the width of each stripe |
| Rotation | Rotates the stripe pattern orientation |
Common mistakes and pitfalls¶
Stripes flicker when rotating the view
The stripe pattern is view-dependent — it is computed for the current camera angle. This is expected behaviour. Pause rotation to read the pattern, or switch to a fixed orthographic view.
See also¶
- Reflect Lines — more sensitive continuity check
- Surface Analysis — curvature colour map
- Comb Plot — curvature display on curves
- Curves Workbench — workbench overview