IDP: automating the CAD/CAM link by reasoning about shape

A method and the components of an implemented system (IDP-Integrated Design and Planning) for integrating design and manufacturing processes are presented. AI techniques like cooperative reasoning and combining geometric evidence are used in a graph-based hypothesis. This generate-eliminate approach automatically extracts the shape primitives of a designed part and determines the relationships between these shape primitives from the boundary representation CAD data, thus producing the higher-level semantic information necessary to manufacture the part. TOLTEC, a case-based planner, uses the information produced by the shape description system to construct a conceptual plan for machining the part. The shape description system, the process planner, and the interfaces are developed in Lisp. Examples are given of how IDP finds the shape primitives, analyzes their descriptions, and generates a machining process plan for two parts which posed difficulties for previous systems using feature extraction methodology