Automatic designation of feature faces to recognize interacting and compound volumetric features for prismatic parts

Abstract

The important aspect of computer-aided process planning (CAPP) is to recognize surfaces and features of parts to aid downstream manufacturing of prismatic parts. Ample work is done on recognition of surface and its non-complex shape features by various methods, but there is shortfall in auto-recognition of interacting and compound features. The non-recognition of interacting and compound features limits the user from knowing individual feature type and material removal volume (MRV) of feature leading to lack of feature information provision to subsequent generative process planning. Therefore, this paper presents (i) an enriched classification of regular form features and (ii) a novel algorithm to automatically recognize interacting and compound volumetric features of prismatic part and to auto-generate material removal volume for the recognized volumetric features. All the faces of a feature are designated based on their geometrical shape, and combination of these designations expresses the type of feature present in a part.