Abstract
A method for generating 3D solid models and drawings for a rotor in the steam turbine is proposed. One of the most important design steps is generating the drawing for manufacturing it. This step is a very routine and time-consuming job because each drawing is composed of several kinds of views and many dimensions. To achieve automation for this activity, rotor profiles are composed of 2D entity groups with attributes. Based on this, the improved design process is developed as follows. First, the rotor profiles can be selected by searching for 2D entity groups using the related attributes. Second, the profiles are connected sequentially so that an entire rotor profile is determined. The completed profile is used to generate 2D drawings automatically, especially views, dimensions, and 3D models. The proposed method is implemented using a commercial CAD/CAM system, Unigraphics, and API functions written in C-language and applied to the rotor of steam turbines. Some illustrative examples are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.