Feature extraction and volume decomposition for orthogonal layered manufacturing

Abstract

Robust and efficient process planning techniques play an important role in CAD/CAM integration. These techniques need to be developed for each type of manufacturing processes owing to the unique characteristics of each of these processes. In this paper, we describe feature extraction techniques that can be applied to layered manufacturing (LM). The aim is to improve the LM process efficiency by considering the specific feature information of the model, which is normally neglected by previous researches. A feature-based LM system has been developed using these techniques. Based on the proposed orthogonal LM system, features extracted from the geometric analysis are defined in the LM domain, and the algorithm for process planning and volume decomposition based on the specific LM features is proposed and implemented. © 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.