Feature-based modeling by integrating design and recognition approaches

Previous work on feature-based modelling has emphasized generating features either in the design phase (design by features) or in the later product-development phases (feature-recognition). Recently, some attempts have been made to integrate both strategies, with the major aim of combining the positive aspects while reducing the drawbacks. The paper presents a system architecture for feature-based modelling which is founded on this integration that is obtained through the definition of a common feature library and an intermediate model, which plays the role of communication link between the geometric model and the feature-based model.