Recognition of Interacting Turning Features for Mill/Turn Parts Available to Purchase

This paper focuses on efficient automatic recognition algorithms for turning features. As with other domains, recognition of interacting features is a difficult issue, because feature interaction removes faces and alters the topology of the existing turned features. This paper presents a method for efficiently recognizing both isolated (without interaction with other features) and interacting rotational features from geometrical CAD model of mill/turn parts. Additionally, the method recognizes Transient Turned Features (TTFs) that are defined as maximal axisymmetric material volumes from a non-turning feature that can be removed by turning. A TTS may not share any faces with the finished part. First, the rotational faces on a solid model are explored to extract isolated rotational features and some of the interacting ones. Then portions of the 3D model where no rotational faces can be used to recognize turning features are cut out and processed by a novel algorithm for finding their transient turning features.