Patent ID: 9536018
Date: 2017-01-03
CPC Classifications: G06F

Claim:
1. A computer-implemented method of simplifying a geometrical model including through holes, by replacing through holes in the geometrical model, comprising: automatically identifying a potential group of through holes in a geometric model, by providing a separate bounding box surrounding each through hole in a set of through holes; calculating the volume of each separate bounding box; increasing the size of each separate bounding box by an offset factor which adjusts the highest and lowest extent of the bounding boxes equally and oppositely in at least one of the mutually perpendicular x, y, and z directions, so that at least two of said separate bounding boxes overlap; creating a united set of all the bounding boxes, whereby overlapping separate bounding boxes become a single combined bounding box; reducing the size of each bounding box in the united set by the offset factor; and extracting from the united set the one or more individual bodies formed by the one or more reduced-size bounding boxes, each individual body potentially representing a group of through holes; and replacing one or more portions of the geometrical model corresponding to the one or more individual bodies with one or more porous replacement positions.