A complete geometric and topologic file structure

Automation of the process planning function is necessary for the effective linking of Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM). Before automated process planning is performed, primitive geometric data from CAD databases needs to be converted to higher-level feature information required by the CAM systems. Many feature recognition algorithms have been developed to extract geometric features from different CAD representation schemes. However, the algorithms are CAD modeler dependent. This research addresses the problem of developing a standardized file format, Complete Geometric and Topological File Structure (CGTS), for feature recognition purposes. Algorithms for conversion of 3-D wire-frame data to CGTS format have been developed, using C++, and the process of feature recognition demonstrated using the CGTS file format.