An approach to a feature-based comparison of solid models of machined parts

Abstract

Solid models are the critical data elements in modern computer-aided design environments, because they describe the shape and form of manufactured artifacts. Their growing ubiquity has created new problems in how to effectively manage the many models that are now stored in the digital libraries for large design and manufacturing enterprises. Existing techniques from the engineering literature and industrial practice, such as group technology, rely on human-supervised encodings and classification; techniques from the multimedia database and computer graphics/vision communities often ignore the manufacturing attributes that are most significant in the classification of models. This paper presents our approach to comparing the manufacturing similarity assessments of solid models of mechanical parts based on machining features. Our technical approach is threefold: perform machining feature extraction, construct a model dependency graph (MDG) from the set of machining features, and partition the models in a database using a measure of similarity based on the MDGs. We introduce two heuristic search techniques for comparing MDGs and present empirical experiments to validate our approach using our testbed, the National Design Repository.

3D CAD Model Representation and Retrieval based on Hierarchical Graph

“…The geodesic-connected graph is a shape descriptor of local features on model surfaces, and can be used in several CAD model analysis tasks, manufacturing feature recognition and model retrieval. Cicirello and Regli [5] examined issues pertaining to graph-based data structures and proposed a model dependency graph (MDG) approach to determine the machining features. Li et al [6] described CAD models and their decomposed components with feature dependency directed acyclic graph (FDAG) for reusable model retrieval, which can capture some related engineering knowledge besides their shapes.…”

An Integrated Geometric Modeling Methodology for 2.5D Cylindrical Prismatic Part for Computer Aided Process Planning

“…They proposed algorithms based on progressive Z-maps for recognizing the machining features and feature topologies by analyzing NC programs [12]. Researchers presented a new approach to extracting machining features from a feature-based design model, which supports both feature-based modeling and feature recognition [13]. Feature recognition is achieved through an incremental feature converter [14].…”

Similarity and scaling assessments of mechanical parts using adjacency relation matrices

“…Part characteristics that capture the spatial and dimensional relationships among fea- tures are used to measure the similarity. Cicirello and Regli (2002) developed an approach to comparing the manufacturing similarity assessments of solid models of mechanical parts based on machining features. The approach is conducted in three main stages, namely perform machining feature extraction, construct a model dependency graph from the set of machining features, and partition the models in a database using a measure of similarity based on the model dependency graphs.…”