Patent ID: 9626460
Date: 2017-04-18
CPC Classifications: G06F

Claim:
1. A method for product data management to create a three-dimensional model of a laminated composite part, the method performed by a data processing system and comprising: receiving one or more layer boundaries of one or more plies of a laminated composite part, wherein each layer boundary defines the size, the shape, the location and position of a layer composite material for the laminated composite part; creating a topological definition from the layer boundaries, the topological definition includes one or more vertices and half-edges, wherein the half-edges are curves corresponding to portions of edges of layer boundaries; identifying one or more vertical ramp sections of one or more vertical ramps from the topological definition that form one or more discontinuities in the topological definition, wherein the vertices include vertical vertices that correspond to vertices at the location of respective vertical ramps; adding one or more additional vertices and half-edges to the topological definition based on the layer boundaries and the vertical ramp sections, wherein the additional vertices include cloned vertical vertices that are cloned from the vertical vertices, wherein for a pair of a vertical vertex and a cloned vertical vertex, a pair of half-edges are added to the topological definition between the vertical vertex and the cloned vertical vertex, wherein the vertical vertex and the cloned vertical vertex have a difference in height equal to a height of the vertical ramp; creating one or more faces in the topological definition along the vertical ramp based on the additional vertices and half-edges to resolve the discontinuities; creating a three-dimensional surface from the topological definition that includes the faces; and transmitting the three-dimensional surface and the topological definition with the faces.