Extracting geometric features from Clouds of points using sweeping

Reverse Engineering involves data acquisition, CAD model building, and manufacturing of the parts based on the obtained models. The algorithms are presented to extract basic geometric features for mechanical parts from Clouds of Points (COP) data using sweeping techniques. Geometric features are classified into two broad categories: Basic and Advanced. The former includes polyhedra and swept models. The swept models fall into three subcategories: translational, rotational, and general. The advanced features are defined on basic features in terms of Boolean operations. This classification is based on global characteristics of mechanical parts. The Feature-based Reverse Engineering System (FRES) is under development based on this theory and should be, when completed, capable of inferring the shapes of missing or worn-out parts and refurbishing legacy parts which were manufactured many decades ago and have no CAD documents nor spare parts. © 2008 CAD Solutions, LLC.