Although its origins can be traced back earlier, numerical geometry first assumed practical importance during the Second World War when production
pressures, particularly in the aircraft industry, stimulated the development of
new methods of design. Hitherto the design process had been mainly graphical,
using the techniques given in books on technical descriptive geometry such as
that by Wellman (1957). The new methods were based on analytical curves,
conies in particular (Liming, 1944). They avoided much of the painstaking
manual draughting work formerly undertaken, and introduced in its place a
considerable element of computation, which led to the widespread use of
mechanical and electro-mechanical calculators. The design stage now required
less time than formerly, and a much higher degree of dimensional integrity was
attained than had been possible by graphical means.