Detection and evaluation of orientation features for CAD part models

Abstract: "Current design for assembly methodologies stress the importance of part features related to acquisition and orientation in determining time values and error rates. This paper discusses an approach to detecting and evaluating features of CAD modelled parts which contribute to assembly difficulty. An evaluation basis is described and algorithms are developed which return an index of difficulty with respect to orientation features and degree of symmetry for two- and three-dimensional parts. Limitations of the method are discussed with examples."