Convex hull-based design evaluation for automated manufacturing planning

This paper presents the work on convex hull-base evaluation of component design for manufacturing planning. The intuitive objective is to adopt a feature recognition approach aiming at a high level of automation of analysis for a simplified geometric domain of components, i.e. 21/2D milled. The definition and identification of 21/2D milled components are briefly discussed. The algorithm is devised for finding the convex hull of a planar set of straight line and circular are segments because none were available. The evaluation of component design based on using the convex hull is described for raw stock selection and clamping and machining strategies. The implementation of the work in C++ with a solid modeller is provided. Geometric reasoning techniques are employed throughout the analysis, making use of the modeller's interfaces and functions. It is hoped that this will provide a basis to extend the component geometry and analytic aspects towards fully automated manufacturing planning.