To be able to approach CAD data translation well, the product you select needs to have robust kernel technology that allows the transfer of data based on known rules and tolerances of each specific CAD system.

CADporter is translation software that has the underlying Data Exchange Kernel (DEK), which has a knowledge base of eighteen years of experience and a built-in automatic healing technology that adapts using known rules based on the sending and receiving CAD system.

Real user models – directly from automotive, consumer electronics and aerospace CAD users – act as the test suite for this translation software system, which always is being updated with new models so that DEK is constantly evolving and getting more robust.
When a part is to be translated from system A to B, DEK will perform the following steps:

Determine appropriate tolerances that should be used based on both systems A and B.

Perform appropriate geometric and topological checks, which are specifically customized based on both systems A and B.

Autoheal problem areas in appropriate order. The autohealing performed by DEK includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Eliminating gaps that result from modeling tolerance differences

Reintersecting edges to derive geometry at a tighter tolerance when needed

Splitting edges that contain curve discontinuities (cusps). Basically, these are curves that are not geometrically smooth as determined by the receiving system.

Splitting faces that contain surface discontinuities (creases) (basically, these are surfaces that not geometrically smooth as determined by the receiving system)

Eliminating short edges and sliver faces

Adding/removing edges at degenerate surface boundaries
There are two cases where DEK’s automatic healing may not result in a 100 percent translation success rate:

1. DEK has the knowledge of the required changes, but they are deemed too drastic to make automatically without the user’s explicit acknowledgement. Of course, user-defined switches can be set to apply such changes automatically.

2. The modeling intent is not clear such that it can be made automatically. For this case, an interactive graphics tool was developed that allows the end user to review and apply the appropriate healing technique.
Interactive Graphics Tool

To solve these very difficult problems, an intuitive, interactive graphics tool is needed to guide the end user into fixing and healing CAD models. One such interactive graphics tool (CADdoctor) is built on the same DEK foundation as the translation software. The major advantage of using this interactive graphics tool is the ability for the end user to categorize and visualize geometrical and topological inconsistencies graphically, to be able to learn from them, and to work to avoid them in the future.

The software guides the user through different categories of errors by highlighting problem areas and removing unrelated screen clutter. Then it proposes various fixes that can be viewed and accepted or rejected based on user requirements .

Furthermore, model construction functions also are available – such as filling holes (models with missing faces), refitting curves and surfaces, retrimming surfaces, and automatically stitching free edges, which comes in handy when importing IGES files.

One particularly unique function allows the user to fix edges that are off the face geometry by locally deforming the face geometry along the edges. The face geometry is treated as an elastic deformable thin plate that is stiff on the interior (to restrict interior shape changes) and flexible along the edges.