3D CAD model comparison: An evaluation of model difference identification technologies

The use of 3D CAD in mechanical product design has become a standard practice. Consequently, methods and tools are continually being developed to improve designers' efficiency in the creation, modification and analysis of 3D CAD models. Recent software developments had led to the emergence of multiple tools capable of comparing 3D CAD models to locate shape similarities or differences, leading to benefits in various CAD- and PLM-related application domains such as design reuse, data exchange and engineering change management. This paper describes evaluation trials that were performed on sets of commercially available 3D CAD model comparison tools. The goal was to evaluate their capacity to efficiently calculate, represent and display 3D CAD model differences in shape change transposition scenarios where shape modifications must be precisely located and elaborated in order to be consistently propagated between application-specific models of a product. First, some basic concepts of 3D CAD model comparison are presented. Then, simulated shape change assessment scenarios are defined to pilot two series of evaluation trials intended for existing software tools capable of comparing 3D CAD procedural and explicit models, respectively. The results are summarized and conclusions are drawn.