A versatile method is proposed to predict the shape of a paper model of a three piece brassiere cup. A brassiere cup consists of several cloth and wire parts and the shapes of cloth parts called patterns are determined by repeating creation of a paper cup model, check of its 3D shape, and modification of 2D shapes of patterns. For efficient design of a brassiere cup, prediction of its 3D shape with a simulation is required. The deformed shape of a paper pattern is represented as a single or multiple developable surfaces. So, a model that can represent a pattern both as a single surface and as multiple surfaces is proposed. Which case is selected depends on the magnitude of the potential energy of the pattern in each case. The potential energy of the pattern and geometric constraints imposed on the pattern are formulated based on the model. Minimizing the potential energy under geometric constraints derives the stable shape of the pattern in either case. The validity of the proposed method was verified by comparing predicted and measured 3D shapes of paper models of two types of three piece cups.
