Integration of History-based Parametric CAD Model Translators Using Automation API

오토메이션 API를 사용한 설계 이력 기반 파라메트릭 CAD 모델 번역기의 통합

As collaborative design and configuration design are of increasing importance in product development, it becomes essential to exchange the feature and parametric CAD models among participants. A history-based parametric method has been proposed and implemented. But each translator which exchanges the feature and parametric information tends to be heavy because to implement duplicated functions such as the identification of the selected geometries, mapping between features which have different attributes. Furthermore. because the history-based parametric translator uses the procedural model as the neutral format, which is the XML macro file, the history-based parametric translators need a geometric modeling kernel to generate an internal explicit geometric model. To ease the problem, we implemented a shared integration platform, the TransCAD. The TransCAD separates translators from the XML macro files. The translators for various CAD systems need to communicate with only the TransCAD. To support the communication with the TransCAD, we exposed the functions of the TransCAD by using the Automation APIs, which is developed by Microsoft. The Automation APIs of the TransCAD consist of the part modeling functions, the data extraction functions, and the utility functions. Each translator uses these functions to translate a parametric CAD model from the sending CAD system into the XML format, or from the in format into the model of the receiving CAD system This paper introduces what the TransCAD is and how it works for the exchange of the feature and parametric models.