Automatic Pre-Mesh CAD Data Repairing

Robert Bronsart; Desta M. Edessa; Lutz Kleinsorge

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijmea.20130101.11

| Peer-Reviewed

Automatic Pre-Mesh CAD Data Repairing

Robert Bronsart, Desta M. Edessa, Lutz Kleinsorge

Published in International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications (Volume 1, Issue 1)

Received: 7 March 2013 Accepted: Published: 2 April 2013

Views: Downloads:

Download PDF

Share This Article

Twitter
Linked In
Facebook

Abstract

Computer aided design (CAD) models are the starting point for many downstream applications such as mesh generation, structural/fluid/thermal analysis, rapid prototyping, numerical controlled machining, casting, computer graphics. Each of these downstream applications are strongly dependent on the accuracy and consistency of the input geometry, but due to numerical problems, imprecise design, software idiosyncrasies, or data exchange issues, the surface patches produced at the CAD step may abut within unpredictable tolerances, resulting in gaps, cracks, holes, overlaps, T-connections, invalid topology and inconsistent orientation which resulted in elusive automatic grid generation. In this paper, an automatic CAD processing tool based on a powerful software development platform (Open CASCADE Technology) is presented to reduce the amount of time and cost associated with cleaning/repairing CAD geometric data for grid generation. Geometries are read from IGES file format, and translated to an internal representation for processing (shape fix followed by sewing) and finally exported in STL, STEP and IGES file formats. The tool automatically detects and heals commonly found geometrical and topological errors. As the main target is automatically repairing CAD data format errors prior to mesh generation, many test cases are performed for different kind of geometries to check the algorithm consistency and robustness. Different CAD inconsistencies are considered to check the accuracy and efficiency of the tool. It is shown that improvement in terms of time and cost can be achieved.

Published in	International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications (Volume 1, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijmea.20130101.11
Page(s)	1-9
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Geometry, CAD, Repairing, Shape fix, Sewing

References

[1]	Ken Morgen, "Closing the gap between cad model and downstream application", SIAM News, Vol. 32, no. 5, Pp. 303-319, 1999.
[2]	Busaryev Oleksiy, Dey Tamal K., Levine Joshua A., "Repairing and meshing imperfect shapes with Delaunay refinement," Symposium on Solid and Physical Modeling, Pp. 25-33, 2009.
[3]	Braid, I., "A history of geometric modeling," Spatial Tech-Ex, Pp. 1-1 – 1-17, 1991.
[4]	Beall M.W.,Walsh J., Shephard M.S., "Accessing CAD geometry for mesh generation," in: 12th International Meshing Roundtable, Sandia National Laboratories, SAND-2003-3030P, Pp. 33-42, 2003.
[5]	Christoph M. Hoffmann, "Geometric and solid modeling: an introduction," The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics and Geometric Modeling, July 1989.
[6]	Gerteisen E.A., Hilbrink N., Mezentsev A. A., Woehler T.,"CAD repair for finite element type simulation methods, " Swiss CAD/CAM conference, Neuchatel University, Switzerland, Pp. 266 – 276, February 1999.
[7]	Butlin Geoffrey and Clive Stops, "CAD data repair, " Proceedings of the 5th International Meshing Roundtable, Sandia National Laboratories, Pp.7-12, October 1996.
[8]	Vincent Franc¸ois, Jean Christophe Cuilliere and Michel Gueury, "Automatic meshing and remeshing in the simultaneous engineering context," Research in Engineering Design Vol. 11, Pp. 55–66, 1999.
[9]	Wang D., Hassan O., Morgan K.,Weatheril N, "Enhanced remeshing from stl with applications to surface grid generation," Commun. Numer. Meth. Engng, Vol. 23, Pp. 227-239, 2007.
[10]	Bronsart R., Knieling G., Zimmermann M., "Automatic generation of a panel-based representation of ship hulls for wave resistance calculations," Proceedings, PRADS 2004, Schiffbautechnische Gesellschaft, Hamburg, 2004.
[11]	TAUTGES T. J., "The common geometry module (CGM): A generic extensible geometry interface," in Proceedings, 9th International Meshing Round Table, 2000.
[12]	Merazzi S., Gerteisen E. A., and Mezentsev A., "A generic CAD mesh interface," In Proceedings, 9th International Meshing Round Table, 2000.
[13]	Stienbrenner J. P., Wymann N. J., and Chawner J. R., "Fast surface meshing on imperfect CAD models," in Proceedings, 9th International Meshing Round Table, 2000.
[14]	Petersson, N. A., "A software demonstration of 'rap': preparing cad geometries for overlapping grid generation." Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Numerical Grid Generation in Computational Field Simulations, UCRL-JC-147260, 2002.
[15]	Petersson, N. Anders and Kyle K. Chand, "Detecting translation errors in cad surfaces and preparing geometries for mesh generation," Proceedings, 10th International Meshing Roundtable, Sandia National Laboratories, pp.363-371, October 7-10, 2001.
[16]	Piret C., Remacle J.-F. and Marchandise E., "Mesh and CAD repair based on parameterizations with radial basis functions," Proceedings of the 20th International Meshing Roundtable 2012, Part 6, 419-436, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-24734-7 23, 2012.
[17]	Hétroy Franck, Rey Stéphanie, Andújar Carlos, Brunet Pere, Vinacua Àlvar, "Mesh repair with topology control," Rapport de recherche,INRIA,numéro6535.France,may 2008.
[18]	Bischoff Stephan and Kobbelt Leif, "Structure preserving cad model repair," Comput. Graph. Forum, 24(3):527–536, 2005.
[19]	Patel Paresh S., Marcum David L. and Remotigue Michael G., "Automatic CAD model topology generation," International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, 52:823–841, 2006.
[20]	OpenCASCADE Website- http://www.opencascade.org/
[21]	Desheng Wang, Oubay Hassan, Kenneth Morgan and Nigel Weatherill, "Enhanced remeshing from STL files with applications to surface grid generation," Communication in Numerical Methods in Engineering, 23:227–239, 2007.
[22]	Perez-Arribas F.,Suarez-Suarez J.A., Fernandez-Jambrina L., "Automatic surface modelling of a ship hull," Journal of Computer-Aided Design, Volume 38 Issue 6, pp 584-594, June 2006.
[23]	Ito Y, Nakahashi K., "Surface triangulation for polygonal models based on CAD data," International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, 39:75–96, 2002.
[24]	"Stereolithography Interface Specification "3D Systems, Inc.: CA, 1989.
[25]	Nakahashi K, Sharov D., "Direct surface triangulation using the advancing front method," AIAA Paper 95-1686-CP, 1995.
[26]	Ito Y, Nakahashi K. "Direct surface triangulation using stereolithography (STL) data," AIAA Paper 2000-0924, 2000.
[27]	Bechet C, Cuilliere JC, Trochu F., "Generation of a finite element MESH from stereolithography (STL) files" Computer Aided Design; 34:1–17, 2002.
[28]	Mesh Repair Website- http://www.meshrepair.org/

Cite This Article

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Robert Bronsart, Desta M. Edessa, Lutz Kleinsorge. (2013). Automatic Pre-Mesh CAD Data Repairing. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications, 1(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmea.20130101.11

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Robert Bronsart; Desta M. Edessa; Lutz Kleinsorge. Automatic Pre-Mesh CAD Data Repairing. Int. J. Mech. Eng. Appl. 2013, 1(1), 1-9. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmea.20130101.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Robert Bronsart, Desta M. Edessa, Lutz Kleinsorge. Automatic Pre-Mesh CAD Data Repairing. Int J Mech Eng Appl. 2013;1(1):1-9. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmea.20130101.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijmea.20130101.11,
  author = {Robert Bronsart and Desta M. Edessa and Lutz Kleinsorge},
  title = {Automatic Pre-Mesh CAD Data Repairing},
  journal = {International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications},
  volume = {1},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-9},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijmea.20130101.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmea.20130101.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijmea.20130101.11},
  abstract = {Computer aided design (CAD) models are the starting point for many downstream applications such as mesh generation, structural/fluid/thermal analysis, rapid prototyping, numerical controlled machining, casting, computer graphics. Each of these downstream applications are strongly dependent on the accuracy and consistency of the input geometry, but due to numerical problems, imprecise design, software idiosyncrasies, or data exchange issues, the surface patches produced at the CAD step may abut within unpredictable tolerances, resulting in gaps, cracks, holes, overlaps, T-connections, invalid topology and inconsistent orientation which resulted in elusive automatic grid generation. In this paper, an automatic CAD processing tool based on a powerful software development platform (Open CASCADE Technology) is presented to reduce the amount of time and cost associated with cleaning/repairing CAD geometric data for grid generation. Geometries are read from IGES file format, and translated to an internal representation for processing (shape fix followed by sewing) and finally exported in STL, STEP and IGES file formats. The tool automatically detects and heals commonly found geometrical and topological errors. As the main target is automatically repairing CAD data format errors prior to mesh generation, many test cases are performed for different kind of geometries to check the algorithm consistency and robustness. Different CAD inconsistencies are considered to check the accuracy and efficiency of the tool. It is shown that improvement in terms of time and cost can be achieved.},
 year = {2013}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Automatic Pre-Mesh CAD Data Repairing
AU  - Robert Bronsart
AU  - Desta M. Edessa
AU  - Lutz Kleinsorge
Y1  - 2013/04/02
PY  - 2013
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmea.20130101.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijmea.20130101.11
T2  - International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications
JF  - International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications
JO  - International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications
SP  - 1
EP  - 9
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0248
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmea.20130101.11
AB  - Computer aided design (CAD) models are the starting point for many downstream applications such as mesh generation, structural/fluid/thermal analysis, rapid prototyping, numerical controlled machining, casting, computer graphics. Each of these downstream applications are strongly dependent on the accuracy and consistency of the input geometry, but due to numerical problems, imprecise design, software idiosyncrasies, or data exchange issues, the surface patches produced at the CAD step may abut within unpredictable tolerances, resulting in gaps, cracks, holes, overlaps, T-connections, invalid topology and inconsistent orientation which resulted in elusive automatic grid generation. In this paper, an automatic CAD processing tool based on a powerful software development platform (Open CASCADE Technology) is presented to reduce the amount of time and cost associated with cleaning/repairing CAD geometric data for grid generation. Geometries are read from IGES file format, and translated to an internal representation for processing (shape fix followed by sewing) and finally exported in STL, STEP and IGES file formats. The tool automatically detects and heals commonly found geometrical and topological errors. As the main target is automatically repairing CAD data format errors prior to mesh generation, many test cases are performed for different kind of geometries to check the algorithm consistency and robustness. Different CAD inconsistencies are considered to check the accuracy and efficiency of the tool. It is shown that improvement in terms of time and cost can be achieved.
VL  - 1
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download

Author Information

Robert Bronsart

Department of Mechanical Engineering and Marine Technology, Rostock, Germany
Desta M. Edessa

Department of Mechanical Engineering and Marine Technology, Rostock, Germany
Lutz Kleinsorge

Department of Mechanical Engineering and Marine Technology, Rostock, Germany

Download PDF

Sections

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Robert Bronsart, Desta M. Edessa, Lutz Kleinsorge. (2013). Automatic Pre-Mesh CAD Data Repairing. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications, 1(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmea.20130101.11

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Robert Bronsart; Desta M. Edessa; Lutz Kleinsorge. Automatic Pre-Mesh CAD Data Repairing. Int. J. Mech. Eng. Appl. 2013, 1(1), 1-9. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmea.20130101.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Robert Bronsart, Desta M. Edessa, Lutz Kleinsorge. Automatic Pre-Mesh CAD Data Repairing. Int J Mech Eng Appl. 2013;1(1):1-9. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmea.20130101.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijmea.20130101.11,
  author = {Robert Bronsart and Desta M. Edessa and Lutz Kleinsorge},
  title = {Automatic Pre-Mesh CAD Data Repairing},
  journal = {International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications},
  volume = {1},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-9},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijmea.20130101.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmea.20130101.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijmea.20130101.11},
  abstract = {Computer aided design (CAD) models are the starting point for many downstream applications such as mesh generation, structural/fluid/thermal analysis, rapid prototyping, numerical controlled machining, casting, computer graphics. Each of these downstream applications are strongly dependent on the accuracy and consistency of the input geometry, but due to numerical problems, imprecise design, software idiosyncrasies, or data exchange issues, the surface patches produced at the CAD step may abut within unpredictable tolerances, resulting in gaps, cracks, holes, overlaps, T-connections, invalid topology and inconsistent orientation which resulted in elusive automatic grid generation. In this paper, an automatic CAD processing tool based on a powerful software development platform (Open CASCADE Technology) is presented to reduce the amount of time and cost associated with cleaning/repairing CAD geometric data for grid generation. Geometries are read from IGES file format, and translated to an internal representation for processing (shape fix followed by sewing) and finally exported in STL, STEP and IGES file formats. The tool automatically detects and heals commonly found geometrical and topological errors. As the main target is automatically repairing CAD data format errors prior to mesh generation, many test cases are performed for different kind of geometries to check the algorithm consistency and robustness. Different CAD inconsistencies are considered to check the accuracy and efficiency of the tool. It is shown that improvement in terms of time and cost can be achieved.},
 year = {2013}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Automatic Pre-Mesh CAD Data Repairing
AU  - Robert Bronsart
AU  - Desta M. Edessa
AU  - Lutz Kleinsorge
Y1  - 2013/04/02
PY  - 2013
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmea.20130101.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijmea.20130101.11
T2  - International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications
JF  - International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications
JO  - International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications
SP  - 1
EP  - 9
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0248
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmea.20130101.11
AB  - Computer aided design (CAD) models are the starting point for many downstream applications such as mesh generation, structural/fluid/thermal analysis, rapid prototyping, numerical controlled machining, casting, computer graphics. Each of these downstream applications are strongly dependent on the accuracy and consistency of the input geometry, but due to numerical problems, imprecise design, software idiosyncrasies, or data exchange issues, the surface patches produced at the CAD step may abut within unpredictable tolerances, resulting in gaps, cracks, holes, overlaps, T-connections, invalid topology and inconsistent orientation which resulted in elusive automatic grid generation. In this paper, an automatic CAD processing tool based on a powerful software development platform (Open CASCADE Technology) is presented to reduce the amount of time and cost associated with cleaning/repairing CAD geometric data for grid generation. Geometries are read from IGES file format, and translated to an internal representation for processing (shape fix followed by sewing) and finally exported in STL, STEP and IGES file formats. The tool automatically detects and heals commonly found geometrical and topological errors. As the main target is automatically repairing CAD data format errors prior to mesh generation, many test cases are performed for different kind of geometries to check the algorithm consistency and robustness. Different CAD inconsistencies are considered to check the accuracy and efficiency of the tool. It is shown that improvement in terms of time and cost can be achieved.
VL  - 1
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download