An Integrated Reverse Modeling Approach Based on Reconstruction of Features and Constraints

Reverse engineering is an important tool to generate CAD models. This paper describes an integrated approach for modeling parts from point cloud to surfaces or solids based on features and constraints. The approach allows designers to integrate reverse engineering and feature-based CAD system in the reconstruction of parts. This approach has two advantages over current practice and the reconstructed models produced by this method are feature-based and constraints satisfaction, which provides a higher level description of part geometry rather than the tedious low-level editing of geometric descriptions as in reverse engineering. This method also facilitates modification and innovative design to the reconstructed parts, which would be extremely difficult or impossible to accomplish if current reverse engineering method is applied. In addition, it is a more convenient and practical way for designers. To illustrate the validation of this integrated modeling approach, a more complicated example is illustrated based on the approach.