A Solid Model Comparison Approach Based on a Model Tree Analysis

This work presents an innovative approach to the solid model comparison problem which aims to detect and extract all geometric differences between two successive versions of the same part. The automatic model comparator has been developed to offer a standardized information about solid model evolutions to all engineering teams concurrently involved in the product development process. The comparison approach is based on a systematic analysis of both solid model trees belonging to each compared part in order to detect any change in the primitives or Boolean operations used throughout the part modelling process. The model comparator has been successfully applied to various aircraft structural parts which have been affected of multiple incremental changes in their design. The comparator has been implemented to the CATIA v4 Computer Aided Engineering software. Key-Words: Product development, CAD, Change management, Data management, PDM, Solid model, Checker