Real-Time Collaborative Design With Heterogeneous CAD Systems Based on Neutral Modeling Commands

This paper presents an integration-based solution for developing a real-time collaborative design (co-design) platform on heterogeneous computer-aided design (CAD) systems. Different from the visualization-based approaches, the product models are allowed to be constructed and modified from various sites together in the proposed collaborative design platform. Our approach is based on a mechanism for the translation between system modeling operations (SMOs) and neutral modeling commands (NMCs). Every operation given by a user on one site is translated into a NMC and transmitted to all the other sites through the network, and then the received NMC is converted into corresponding SMOs on every other site, instantaneously. Since only the commands but not the product data are transferred, the data size under transmission is greatly reduced, so that a real-time synchronization can be achieved with a standard network bandwidth. In addition, by developing system-dependent SMO↔NMC translators on different client CAD systems, users on different sites could join the collaboration by using their familiar CAD systems; this is the benefit that cannot be offered by the homogeneous co-design systems. The prototype implementation proves that our approach works well for integrating various current popular commercial CAD systems into a real-time collaborative design platform.

[1]  Soonhung Han,et al.  Exchange of CAD Part Models Based on the Macro-Parametric Approach , 2002 .

[2]  Ari Rappoport,et al.  One-dimensional selections for feature-based data exchange , 2005, SPM '05.

[3]  Willem F. Bronsvoort,et al.  A collaborative framework for integrated part and assembly modeling , 2002, SMA '02.

[4]  Francis Eng Hock Tay,et al.  CyberCAD: a collaborative approach in 3D-CAD technology in a multimedia-supported environment , 2003, Comput. Ind..

[5]  Soonhung Han,et al.  A set of standard modeling commands for the history-based parametric approach , 2003, Comput. Aided Des..

[6]  W. D. Li,et al.  Feature-based design in a distributed and collaborative environment , 2004, Comput. Aided Des..

[7]  Di Wu,et al.  The incremental editing of faceted models in an integrated design environment , 2004, Comput. Aided Des..

[8]  Weidong Li,et al.  Collaborative Computer-Aided Design - Research and Development Status , 2004 .

[9]  Xiang Chen,et al.  A Web services based platform for exchange of procedural CAD models , 2005, Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work in Design, 2005..

[10]  Ahn Sung-Hoon,et al.  Internet-based Design and Manufacturing , 2006 .

[11]  Jie Li,et al.  Direct incremental transmission of boundary representation , 2003, SM '03.

[12]  Ari Rappoport,et al.  An architecture for universal CAD data exchange , 2003, SM '03.

[13]  Y.S. Wong,et al.  Geometric model simplification for distributed CAD , 2004, Comput. Aided Des..