Hewlett-packard Company

Parametic Technology Corporation

Stefan Freitag

A computer aided design (CAD) system is described where each type of change in a CAD-generated object is automatically and chronologically protocoled so that the object directly includes an abstract description of the history of the object independent of the CAD module used. This is particularly advantageous with decentralized CAD systems in which several constructors/designers are working together on the same draft, but located in different places. At the end of a session, the object history, i.e., the changes which have taken place, are directly exported, together with the object data, into the destination system. The abstract description is in a form independent of the system used.

CAD system

Every type of change in a CAD generated object is automatically and chronologically protocoled so that the object directly includes an abstract description of the history of the object independent of the CAD module used. This is particularly advantageous with decentralized CAD systems in which several constructors/designers are working together on the same draft, but located in different places. At the end of a session, the object history, i.e. the changes which have taken place, are directly exported, together with the object data, into the destination system. The abstract description is in a form independent of the system used.

In a method for blending an edge of a geometric object in a computer-aided design (CAD) system, a user can select an edge which is to be blended as well as the size of the blend portion. The size of the blend portion can be selected, for example, by entering a desired blend radius into the CAD system. The CAD system calculates the blended object comprising the blend portion and the remaining parts of the original object. The intersections of the blend surface with the object are calculated and it is determined which edges and faces of the original object are deleted by the blending operation. The method is capable of performing blending operations wherein an arbitrary number of edges and faces are removed from the object. The method can also be used for blending an edge with a variable radius and for chamfering the edge.

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Nufringen, Germany

Stefan Freitag