Efficiency of boundary evaluation for a cellular model

Feature modeling systems usually employ a boundary representation (b-rep) to store the shape information on a product. It has, however, been shown that a b-rep has a number of shortcomings, and that a cellular representation can be a valuable alternative. A cellular model stores additional shape information on features, including the feature faces that are not on the boundary of the product. Such information can be profitably used for several purposes. A major operation in every feature modeling system is boundary evaluation, which computes the geometric model of a product, i.e. either the b-rep or the cellular model, from the features that have been specified by the user. Since boundary evaluation has to be executed each time a feature is added, removed or modified, its efficiency is of paramount importance. In this paper, boundary evaluation for a cellular model is described in some detail. Its efficiency is compared to the efficiency of boundary evaluation for a b-rep, on the basis...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2005
• Where: CAD
• Authors: Rafael Bidarra, Joaquim Madeira, Willem J. Neels, Willem F. Bronsvoort
• Keywords: B-Rep, Boundary Evaluation, CAD 2005, Cellular Models, Theoretical Computer Science