Form feature recognition using convex decomposition: results presented at the 1997 ASME CIE Feature Panel Session

This paper is a summary of the results we presented at the Feature Panel Session of the 1997 ASME Computers in Engineering Conference. Five participating groups submitted a total of nine test parts for feature recognition. To these test parts, we have applied our feature recognition method using a convex decomposition method called Alternating Sum of Volumes with Partitioning (ASVP). By applying combination operations to the ASVP decomposition of a part boundary, we obtain a Form Feature Decomposition (FFD) consisting of volumetric form features. The FFD can be further converted into application-specific feature representations, including the Negative Feature Decomposition (NFD) for machining or cast-then-machined applications. We describe an additional application of the ASVP algorithm to identify and filter out cylindrical features from a part boundary.