An edge-based mesh segmentation method for engineering objects

This paper proposes a triangle mesh segmentation technique for conventional engineering objects. We exploited two key aspects of engineering geometry: (1) the intrinsic discontinuities existing in boundary surfaces and (2) the anisotropic behavior of true discontinuities. A two run non-linear diffusion algorithm based on an optimal estimation theory is designed to filter out undesired discontinuities. The first run is for treating C1 continuities where the crease edges are detected using anisotropic re-estimation of triangle normal. The second run is for handling C2 continuities in which transition edges are derived through diffusion of curvature tensor associated with each triangle. Morphological operator and geometric snake model are implemented for interpolating smooth and closed feature loops. Results indicate that our method can determine surface patch layout satisfactorily.