System and method for modifying geometric relationships in a solid model

Abstract

A system, method, and computer program for modifying a solid model representation that is manipulated in a computer having software instructions for design, comprises: a computer system, wherein the computer system includes a memory, a processor, a user input device, and a display device; a computer generated geometric model stored in the memory in the memory of the computer system; and wherein the computer system receives user input and accesses at least one data file having a plurality of geometric model definitions that define a geometric model; converts the geometric model definitions into a geometric representation of the geometric model; calculates a plurality of geometric conditions between at least one geometry identified by a user and the geometric model to create a set of constraints; and calculates a modified geometric model with a modified geometry according the set of constraints to display to the user; and appropriate means and computer-readable instructions.

Description

[0001] Cross References to Related Applications [0002] This application claims priority to pending Provisional US Application Serial No. 61 / 044,612, filed April 14,2008. technical field [0003] The inventive systems described herein generally involve computer-aided design software applications. More specifically, the system relates to identifying geometric relationships in solid model representations. Background technique [0004] In today's world of computer-aided design (CAD) applications, parts are typically designed in one of two ways: history-based or history-less. History-based systems are often characterized by the parametric modeling paradigm that emerged in the mid-1980s. In a parametric modeling system, recipes or history trees are created to reflect how things relate to each other. When a modification is made to an original item, all items generated from the original item at a later time are updated. In this way, for example, two faces can remain coplanar ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0006] The problem with history-based approaches is that design intent is incorporated and fixed at model creation time, which can complicate later changes that were not anticipated at model creation time

If the modification designer decides to manually capture such intelligence at a later point in time, similar to history-based systems, this intelligence is incorporated and fixed, limiting further flexibility

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