Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2009) 41:932–947
DOI 10.1007/s00170-008-1536-z
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Automatic recognition of machining features using artificial
neural networks
V. B. Sunil & S. S. Pande
Received: 2 January 2008 / Accepted: 18 April 2008 / Published online: 27 May 2008
# Springer-Verlag London Limited 2008
Abstract We report on the development of an intelligent
system for recognizing prismatic part machining features
from CAD models using an artificial neural network. A
unique 12-node vector scheme has been proposed to
represent machining feature families having variations in
topology and geometry. The B-Rep CAD model in ACIS
format is preprocessed to generate the feature representation
vectors, which are then fed to the neural network for
classification. The ANN-based feature-recognition (FR)
system was trained with a large set of feature patterns and
optimized for its performance. The system was able to
efficiently recognize a wide range of complex machining
features allowing variations in feature topology and
geometry. The data of the recognized features was post-
processed and linked to a feature-based CAPP system for
CNC machining. The FR system provided seamless
integration from CAD model to CNC programming.
Keywords Intelligent feature recognition . Artificial neural
networks . CAD model
Nomenclature
n Number of vertices shared by a face
ni Node i of input vector
E Number of edges
Es Edge score
F Number of faces
Fg Face geometry
Fs Face score
V. B. Sunil : S. S. Pande (*)
Computer Aided Manufacturing Laboratory,
Mechanical Engineering Department,
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay,
Powai, Mumbai 400076, India
e-mail: s.s.pande@iitb.ac.in
V Number of vertices
Vs Vertex score
1 Introduction
Today, features technology has become the de-facto
standard for product modeling in CAD/CAM. Two popular
approaches have been pursued viz. design by features and
feature recognition (FR) from CAD models [1]. Design by
features approach provides a very user friendly environ-
ment to create CAD model in terms of part functional
features. It is however, domain specific, and application
dependent.
The need for feature recognition (FR) is particularly felt
when application specific features are to be recognized from
a CAD model depending upon the intended end application.
Quite often the entire part CAD model may not have been
constructed with features, or created in non feature based
system which necessitates the need for feature recognition.
During the transfer of the data for a CAD part model, usually
only low level information such as faces and edges are
transferred and the feature information is often lost in the
target CAD system [2]. In such situations, feature recogni-
tion is required to recreate the design tree (feature tree) in
the target system after data translation. In collaborative
product design systems, product data to be sent across
limited bandwidth of the Internet often necessitates in a
compact form using simplified B-Rep, polygonal represen-
tation [3] or mesh based solid model representation [4].
Depending on the level of detail/application view required,
high level functional entities (features) need to be recog-
nized from the product data at the server/client side to
create the ‘view-dependent’ model for the client.
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2009) 41:932–947
2 Literature review
Literature reveals that during the past two decades
researchers have proposed and implemented various ma-
chining feature-recognition systems using rule-based [5],
syntactic pattern recognition [6], graph-based [7], volume
decomposition-based [8], hint-based [9] and hybrid
approaches [10]. Comprehensive review of various fea-
ture-recognition techniques has been reported in the
literature [11, 12]. The above feature-recognition techni-
ques are beset with problems, such as inability to learn and
generalize, lack of tolerance to errors in input, computa-
tionally intensive and inflexibility to recognize new feature
types, which restrict their practical applications. The
reported FR techniques had limited success in handling
different feature variations (variable topology, etc.). In case
of subgraph matching recognition technique, the sheer
variation in geometry and/or topology resulted in an
overwhelmingly large number of graphs to be matched to
find a feature [13]. Graph grammars use a set of rules of
subgraph matching, which is computationally expensive.
Other techniques go by exhaustive rules and geometric
reasoning to tackle these conflicts appearing in their way of
feature-recognition process.
Researchers of late are focusing upon developing ANN-
based feature-recognition techniques that are expected to
overcome some of the limitations of the above feature-
recognition techniques. The advantages of ANN-based
feature recognition include their ability to learn and
generalize feature patterns, ability to tolerate noise in an
input pattern and recognizing similar/unknown feature
patterns once it is trained. ANN-based systems are relatively
faster because the process is limited to simple mathematical
computations and does not use a search or logical rules.
There is no need to predefine almost every instance of a
feature and perform sequence of logical checks. ANN, thus,
offers great promise for the FR problem.
Prabhakar and Henderson [14] reported the use of a five-
layer quasi-neural net for FR. An encoded part face
adjacency matrix scheme was used as the input to the
network. The system could not differentiate between
features having the same topology but different geometry,
such as a counterbore and a spot face. In their independent
works, Hwang and Henderson [15] and Ozturk and Ozturk
[16] proposed the use of an eight-element face score vector
as input to the ANN-based FR system. Single-layer
network configuration was used by Hwang and Henderson
[15] while Ozturk and Ozturk [16] used a multiple-layer
perceptron network. The method could recognize a very
limited number of features. However, the uniqueness of the
feature patterns was not guaranteed due to the lack of one-
to-one correspondence between feature patterns and fea-
tures. Gu et al. [17] used a multi-layer feed-forward neural
933
network for FR. Attributed adjacency matrices (AAM) were
used as input data for the network to train and recognize
feature patterns. The system recognized only fixed topology
features such as step, slot, blind step, blind slot, pocket,
inverted dovetail slot, and blind hole. Lankalapalli et al.
[18] proposed a nine-element face score vector to represent
the features and used ART2 neural network architecture for
FR. In a separate work, Onwubolu [19] used the same nine-
element face score vector scheme proposed by Lankalapalli
et al. [18] to represent features and used multi-layer feed-
forward back-propagation network. Both works were able
to recognize a limited set of features with fixed number of
faces (fixed topology). Nezis and Vosniakos [20] repre-
sented the features using a binary vector of 20 elements that
was computed by querying the layout of the adjacency
matrix of the corresponding feature. Multi-layer feed-
forward back-propagation network was used for FR. The
basic limitation of the work was the heuristics used which,
to a certain extent, pre-recognized the features. The system
proposed by Zulkifli and Meeran [21] was limited to simple
feature types having its cross section defined by four
rectangular vertices and circular feature types defined by a
scheme of eight vertices. Features were represented in
matrix form using the pattern of edges and vertices forming
the feature. Four separate multi-layer feed-forward networks
were required for the recognition. Li et al. [22] proposed a
hybrid method combining ART2 network with feature hints
and graph manipulations to recognize interacting machining
features. Unified F-Loop was defined as generic hints and
graph manipulation on this was carried out to generate
potential features. The obtained potential features are
represented as F-Loop graphs and are given input to
ART2 network for FR. It was limited to recognizing basic
types of features with fixed number of faces. Ding and Yue
[23] presented a hybrid feature-recognition method that
incorporated design-by-features approach, use of ANN
techniques, and a heuristic algorithm. Two multi-layer
feed-forward back-propagation networks were used taking
inputs as F-adjacency and V-adjacency matrices, respec-
tively. The ANN method was able to recognize variable
topology features, but was unable to differentiate between
the same topology and different geometry features. Chak-
raborty and Basu [24] proposed binary strings to represent
features. The work was too feature specific being limited to
very simple slots/steps defined by four rectangular vertices
and circular pockets defined by eight vertices. Lam and
Wong [25] presented a hybrid system combining neural
network-based technique with graph-based and volume-
decomposition techniques. Here the neural network was
used as a function approximation tool rather than for
recognizing features. Smith and Dagli [26] and Chen and
Lee [27] described the use of ANN for 2D feature
recognition. Jun et al. [28] proposed a neural network
934
system for extracting geometric features directly from a set
of 3D scanned points.
The ANN-based feature-recognition systems discussed
above have various limitations. Most of the systems target a
limited set of simple features such as rectangular pocket,
blind/through step, blind/through slot, etc., which can be
defined by four rectangular vertices, or features with a fixed
number of faces, etc. and do not consider feature topology
and geometry variations. Few systems handle variable
topology features but do not consider shape-based feature
classification. Many systems use feature specific representa-
tion schemes which have limitations such as ambiguity, non-
uniqueness, and the need to have more networks for
recognition; thus increasing the time and effort in training
and testing the networks. Some systems need heuristics to
find candidate faces effectively amounting to pre-recognition
of certain features. A need thus exists to develop an efficient
ANN-based FR system that can identify a large variety of
machining features with varying topology and geometry.
In the present work, an intelligent feature-recognition
system using a back-propagation neural network has been
designed, implemented, and rigorously tested. Design and
development issues of this system are discussed in the
sections to follow.
The remainder of the paper is organized as follows.
Section 3 presents the basic concepts of features and the
feature taxonomy for prismatic machined parts handled in
this research work. The approach for FR is presented in
Sect. 4. Section 5 presents the developed ANN-based FR
system in detail in terms of algorithm and associated
modules. Section 6 presents the results and discussions with
various case studies. Conclusions from this research work
are presented in Sect. 7.
Fig. 1 Feature variations (a)
different topology, different
shape (variable topology fea-
tures); (b), (c) different topolo-
gy, same shape and (d) same
topology, different shape
Pocket with Pocket with
8 faces
(a)
Through Hole with Through Hole with
1 face (ACIS 7 2 faces (ACIS 15
Representation) Representation)
(c)
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2009) 41:932–947
3 Basic concepts
3.1 Definition of feature
Feature is a region of functional interest on a part. It can be
defined as a set of connected faces having certain
characteristic combination of topology and geometry which
suggests some activity of significance in the design-
manufacturing domain. The topological characteristics
involve entities like faces, edges, vertices, and their
connectivity while the geometrical characteristics involve
edge type, face type, edge convexity, etc. and relationships
between faces such as parallelism, perpendicularity, etc.
3.2 Feature variations
There are many topology and/or geometry related variations
possible within a feature type (Fig. 1). Three important
categories include,
– Features with variable topology (variable number of
faces, Fig. 1a).
– Features with same shape but different topology
(Fig. 1b,c).
– Features with same topology but different shape
(Fig. 1d).
Such variations of topology and geometry within a
feature type make the FR problem difficult. Compared to
conventional FR techniques such as rule-based, graph-
based, syntactic pattern recognition etc., ANN offers great
promise here due to its characteristics of learning and
generalization for pattern recognition.
Rectangular Rectangular
12 faces Pocket with Pocket with
4 faces 5 faces
(b)
Rectangular Obround
Pocket Pocket
(d)
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2009) 41:932–947
3.3 Feature taxonomy
The present work is targeted to the recognition of 2.5D
prismatic non-interacting depression machining features
belonging to six feature families viz. pockets, passages,
blind slots, through slots, blind steps, and through steps
with variable number of faces. In addition, two fixed
topology features like blind holes and through holes have
also been addressed. Figure 2a–c shows the feature
taxonomy along with the topological information of each
feature viz. faces, edges, vertices, and the connectivity
between faces represented using face adjacency graph
(FAG).
The AAG/FAG-based FR approaches reported in litera-
ture have problems in dealing with the feature variations
such as features having variable topology, features having
the same shape but different topology, and features having
the same topology but different shapes (Sect. 3.2). These
feature variations will lead to a large search space for
graph-based FR technique [13], as each feature variation
will lead to a new feature template graph to be matched.
Research is also pursued in finding a meta-data structure to
capture the kind of feature variation viz. the same feature
shape having different topology [12].
The present research work aims at capturing these
feature variations using the learning and generalization
capability of ANN. The ANN-based feature-recognition
system developed in this work uniquely handles features
having variable topology (like n-sided pockets, n-sided
slots, etc.) features having the same shape but variable
topology (like four-sided obround pocket, five-sided
obround pocket, etc.) and also does shape-based feature
classification like triangular, rectangular, obround, n-sided
convex, n-sided concave features, etc. which have not
been extensively addressed in the literature. Basic
characteristics of features handled in the present work
are listed below.
1. All the features can be geometrically defined by bottom
contour, sweep direction and extrusion height similar to
the machining features definition in STEP AP 224 [29].
2. The features can have both planar and cylindrical faces
and are not restricted to planar polyhedral shapes.
3. A feature family is divided into shape-based features.
For example, based on geometric shapes, pocket feature
family is divided into triangular, rectangular, and
obround pocket shapes. For irregular shapes, pocket is
divided into two sub families viz. n-sided convex and
n-sided concave pockets based on the convexity of the
cross section of the pocket.
4. The blind hole is represented as two half cylindrical
faces and one bottom planar face whereas the through
hole does not have the bottom planar face (Fig. 2c).
935
5. In the case of blind/through hole features, only simple
blind/through hole is considered. Compound holes like
counter bore and counter sunk are not considered in the
present work.
6. The features can have isothetic (non-orthogonal -
inclined to coordinate axes) orientation on the face.
All the feature types with various topology and geometry
variations shown in Fig. 2a–c are recognized by the
developed system.
4 Approach for feature recognition
The overall approach of the feature-recognition system
followed in our work is enumerated below:
1. Input: The B-Rep models of both the part and its
machining raw stock (in ACIS *.sat format) are used as
the input to our system. The stock is not necessarily the
convex hull of the part. Needless to state that a part face
which is a convex hull face will also be a stock face,
but a part face which is a stock face need not
necessarily be a convex hull face. In the present work,
B-Rep model in ACIS format is used mainly because
ACIS kernel which is widely used in industries for
CAD model representation. Besides, it provides a rich
set of APIs, which were very useful in preprocessing
the input CAD model for creating feature FAGs.
(Sect. 5)
2. Preprocessing module: Various functional steps in this
module are as under.
– Construction of part face adjacency graph (part
FAG).
– Part FAG decomposition into feature FAGs.
– Creating feature representation vector (FRV) for
each feature FAG.
3. ANN feature recognizer: All the FRVs generated in the
preprocessing module are presented to the ANN for
feature classification.
4. Feature representation and application interface: For
each feature classified by ANN, the relevant feature
parameters such as feature ID, feature type, shape,
length, width, height, position, access directions,
bottom contour, sweep direction etc. are computed
and stored to create a feature-based model representa-
tion in a native format. Application interface can
translate this feature-based model file and link it to a
downline application like a feature-based CAPP system
for CNC machining.
Details of various modules and the associated algorithms
are discussed in the sections to follow.
936 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2009) 41:932–947

POCKET FEATURE FAMILY

F = 4, E = 9, V = 6 F = 5, E = 12, V = 8 F = 5, E = 12, V = 8 F = 6, E = 15, V = 10 F = 7, E = 18, V = 12 F = 8, E = 21, V =14 F = 9, E = 24, V =16

Triangular Pocket Rectangular Pocket Obround Pocket N – Side Convex Pocket N – Side Concave Pocket
[0.10] [0.12] [0.14] [0.16] [0.18]
PASSAGE FEATURE FAMILY

F = 3, E = 9, V = 6 F = 4, E = 12, V = 8 F = 4, E = 12, V = 8 F = 5, E = 15, V = 10 F = 6, E = 18, V = 12 F = 7, E = 21, V = 14 F = 8, E = 24, V = 16

Triangular Passage Rectangular Passage Obround Passage N – Side Convex Passage N – Side Concave Passage
[0.20] [0.22] [0.24] [0.26] [0.28]
BLIND STEP FEATURE FAMILY

F = 2, E = 6, V = 5 F = 2, E = 6, V = 5 F = 3, E = 9, V = 7 F = 4, E = 12, V = 9 F = 5, E = 15, V = 11 F = 6, E = 18, V = 13 F = 7, E = 21, V = 15

Chamfered Blind Step Circular Blind Step Rectangular Blind Step N – Side Convex Blind Step N – Side Concave Blind Step
[0.30] [0.32] [0.34] [0.36] [0.38]

(a).
THROUGH STEP FEATURE FAMILY

F = 2, E = 7, V = 6 F = 3, E = 10, V = 8 F = 3, E = 10, V = 8 F = 4, E = 13, V = 10 F = 5, E = 16, V = 12 F = 6, E = 19, V = 14 F = 7, E = 22, V = 16

Rectangular Through 2 – Side Convex 2 – Side Concave N – Side Convex Through Step N – Side Concave Through Step
Step [0.40] Through Step [0.42] Through Step [0.44] [0.46] [0.48]
BLIND SLOT FEATURE FAMILY

F = 4, E = 11, V = 8 F = 4, E = 11, V = 8 F = 4, E = 11, V = 8 F = 5, E = 14, V = 10 F = 6, E = 17, V = 12 F = 7, E = 20, V = 14 F = 8, E = 23, V = 16

Rectangular Blind Slot Vertical Obround Blind Horizontal Obround Blind N – Side Convex Blind Slot N – Side Concave Blind Slot
[0.50] Slot [0.52] Slot [0.54] [0.56] [0.58]
THROUGH SLOT FEATURE FAMILY

F = 1, E = 4, V = 4 F = 2, E = 7, V = 6 F = 3, E = 10, V = 8 F = 4, E = 13, V = 10 F = 5, E = 16, V = 12 F = 6, E = 19, V = 14 F = 7, E = 22, V = 16

Circular Through Slot V Through Slot Rectangular Through N – Side Convex Through Slot N – Side Concave Through Slot
[0.60] [0.62] Slot [0.64] [0.66] [0.68]

(b).
Fig. 2 a–c Feature taxonomy and their face adjacency graph (FAG). (ANN output target value shown in brackets)
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2009) 41:932–947
BLIND HOLE THROUGH HOLE
F = 3, E = 6, V = 4 F = 2, E = 6, V = 4
Simple Blind Hole Simple Through Hole
[0.70] [0.80]
(c).
Fig. 2 (continued)
5 Algorithm
5.1 Preprocessing of part CAD model
The main aim of preprocessing the part CAD model is to
generate feature representation vectors (FRVs) that can be
fed to ANN for feature recognition. The steps involved are
enumerated below.
– Construction of part face adjacency graph (part
FAG): A part FAG is a representation of the entire part
showing the face connectivity. In a FAG, the node
corresponds to the face of the part and arc represents
the edge between the two faces. For the given input
part CAD model (in ACIS *.sat format), the part FAG
is created using the ACIS API. Part FAG is represented
in the computer in the form of a class containing
pointers to objects of node and arc classes.
– Part FAG decomposition: In this step the part FAG is
decomposed into feature FAGs using the following
heuristic: A part face which is a stock face (i.e., the part
face that is not machined out) is not a feature face and
can be removed from the face adjacency graph. ACIS
APIs/Direct Interfaces are used for this purpose. The
steps will involve:
– Identification of part faces that are stock faces. This is
found by the boundary intersection of the input part
and stock B-Rep (in ACIS *.sat format) models.
– Deleting the nodes belonging to the above identi-
fied part stock faces and the arcs incident to those
nodes from the part FAG.
This procedure may result in several graphs or one
single graph. These graphs are called feature face
adjacency graphs (feature FAGs). The number of feature
FAGs will represent the number of likely depression
features present on the part. The feature FAGs are then
evaluated to get the feature representation vectors (FRVs),
which is discussed next.
– Creating feature representation vector (FRV) for
each Feature FAG: FRV is the heart of the ANN-
937
based feature-recognition algorithm. FRV represents
topology and geometry information of the set of
connected faces in the feature FAG which are encoded
in the form of numbers. Most of the earlier FRV
schemes could handle only a limited set of features
with fixed topology and did not consider variable
topology features and shape-based feature classification
[17, 18, 21, 24]. In the present work, a new FRV
scheme with 12 nodes has been proposed and devel-
oped that can handle variable topology features and
also do shape-based feature classification. The details
of FRV are given in Sect. 5.2.1. For calculating the
required topology and geometry information of the
feature face set, the part B-Rep and part FAG are
queried using the ACIS APIs and direct interfaces. For
each feature FAG, corresponding FRV is created and
fed to ANN for feature recognition and classification.
5.2 Feature recognition using ANN
This section deals with the issues related to using ANN for
feature recognition viz. design of feature representation
vector, selection of artificial neural network, and optimiza-
tion of neural network by training and testing.
5.2.1 Feature representation vector scheme
The most important step in using ANN for feature
recognition is to design a feature representation vector
scheme that enables ANN to classify the input feature
patterns in an unambiguous manner. The FRV should
represent the topology and geometry of the feature in a
manner which can be fed to ANN for classification. In this
work, a unique 12-node feature representation vector has
been designed (Table 1). Nodes 1 to 7, and 11 are used for
feature shape and its convexity classification while nodes 8,
Table 1 Feature representation vector scheme
Node number Description
1 Minimum face score value
2 Next minimum face score value
3 And so on
4 “
5 “
6 “
7 Average face score value
8 Value of V + E − 5F
9 Number of ‘Zero Transition’ faces
10 Number of ‘Four Transition’ faces
11 Total number of faces
12 Number of external faces connected
938
Fig. 3 Face score calculation and transition face for rectangular
through slot
9, 10, and 12 are used for aiding feature family classifica-
tion. The scheme is described in detail below.
Nodes 1 to 7 Nodes 1 to 7 represent values that are based
on face scores of the candidate faces in a chosen set. The
face score is dependent upon the face geometry (planar,
cylindrical face), edge geometry (convex/concave edge),
and edge-vertex connectivity [15]. The face score is used as
a measure of the face uniqueness or face complexity based
upon the convexity or concavity of the surrounding region.
The following scores have been chosen for assignment
to the edges and face geometry: convex edge (+0.5),
concave edge (−0.5), plane face (0) and cylindrical face
(−2.0). The numerical values chosen for the edge and face
geometry scores reflect the geometric nature of the entities
and hence the feature complexity. For example, a negative
value for edge is used to reflect the concavity of the edge.
Face score value of a plane face being more negative would
mean that it has a higher number of concave edges in its
surrounding and would signify a depression feature. In
short, the score values are chosen with a view to enable
wider separation between input feature patterns to aid
classification. Numerical experiments were also carried out
to see the sensitivity of the score value given to the
cylindrical face. Different values viz. −2, −1.5, −1 and −0.7
were tried. The networks showed good performance with
cylindrical face value of −2.
The vertex score is calculated by Vs ¼ Es1 þ Es2 þ Es3 ;
where Vs is the vertex score and Es1, Es2 & Es3 are the
scores of the three edges that are incident on the vertex.
The face score is given by
X
n
Vsj
Fs ¼ þ Fg
j¼1
n Table 2 Variation of number of faces (F), edges (E) and vertices (V)
where n is the number of vertices shared by the face and is
the face geometry score value for the constituent face.
Figure 3 shows an example of a rectangular through slot.
A typical face (face A) is shown separately with all its
constituent vertices and edges. The concave and convex
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2009) 41:932–947
edges are shown by ‘0’ and ‘1’, respectively. The group of
candidate faces obtained after the processing the CAD part
model will be faces A, B, and C. The FRV is generated for
this set of candidate faces.
Using the above scheme, the vertex scores of all the four
vertices of face A is 0.5 and since face A is planar face, the face
geometry score value (Fg)
is 0. The face score for face
A ¼ðVs1 þ Vs2 þ Vs3 þ Vs4 Þ 4 þ Fg ¼ 0:5 þ 0 ¼ 0:5: Sim-
ilarly, the face score for both face B and C is 1.0 and the
average face score value of A, B, and C is 0.833.
In nodes 1 to 6, only distinct face score values are stored
in ascending order. If the number of distinct face score
values is less than 6, the remaining elements are given 1.5
value. It is assumed that a feature will not have more than
six distinct face score values. This assumption is checked
and found to be true for a large variety of features. If a
feature has more than six distinct face score values, then
only the first six in ascending order is kept. Node 7 stores
the average face score. So the nodes 1 to 7 for the
rectangular through slot will be given the values as [0.5,
1.0, 1.5, 1.5, 1.5, 1.5, 0.833, ...].
Node 8 Recognizing variable topology features families is
a complex task in feature recognition. To recognize a
feature family a topologically invariant attribute is required
which can provide differentiating criteria (contrast) between
feature families. Node 8 is used to store such a topological
attribute viz. V + E - 5F, where V, E and F are the number
of vertices, edges and faces in the set of connected
candidate faces. This attribute has been derived from Euler
formula. Euler’s formula gives topological invariant attri-
bute for 3D polyhedral solids and is given as
V
E þ F ¼ 2; for closed solid
¼ 1; for one end open
¼ 0; for both end open
With the Euler’s expression, it can be seen that passage
feature family satisfy V - E + F=0, whereas all other feature
families (pocket, blind slot, through slot, blind step and
through step) satisfy V − E + F=1. Even though Euler’s
expression is topologically invariant within a feature family,
it doesn’t give contrast between feature families.
ð1Þ
Number Pocket Passage Blind Through Blind Through
of step step slot slot
F 4+x 3+x 2+x 2+x 4+x 1+x
E 9 + 3x 9 + 3x 6 + 3x 7 + 3x 11 + 3x 4 + 3x
V 6 + 2x 6 + 2x 5 + 2x 6 + 2x 8 + 2x 4 + 2x
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2009) 41:932–947
Fig. 4 Zero transition face in pocket
On examining the variation in the number of faces (F),
edges (E) and vertices (V) in each of the feature family, it
was observed that it follows an arithmetic progression (AP)
(Table 2).
It is seen that the addition of a face to a feature
effectively results in the addition of three edges and two
vertices to it. It is also seen that for each feature family the
set of first terms in AP for F, E and V are different. They
however have the same common difference of 1, 3, and 2
for F, E and V respectively. Observing this pattern, the
relationship between F, E and V for all the feature families
can be expressed by V + E − 5F. For various feature
families, this expression evaluates as follows (value in
bracket): pocket (−5), passage (0), blind step (1), through
step (3), blind slot (−1) and through slot (3).
Node 8 will, thus, aid ANN in classifying feature
families except through slot and through step. Other
attributes like number of four transition faces (Node 10)
and the number of external faces (Node 11), discussed
further would help in their unambiguous classification.
Node 9 This node stores information on the number of
‘Zero Transition Faces’. Number of transition is defined as
Fig. 5 ANN architecture 12–
N1–N2–1
939
the sum of all transitions from convex edge to concave edge
or vice versa during a traversal along the boundary of a face
[30]. The pocket feature family has one ‘Zero Transition
Face’, which is the bottom face of the pocket (Fig. 4). The
bottom face of the pocket has all concave edges so there is
zero transition. Other feature families don’t have a ‘Zero
Transition Face’ (except circular through slot) and hence
this attribute can aid ANN in classifying pocket feature
family.
Node 10 This node stores the number of ‘Four Transition
Faces’. For the rectangular through slot (Fig. 3) only the
bottom face A has two non adjacent convex edges (v1–v2
and v3–v4) and two non adjacent concave edges (v2–v3
and v4–v1). It will thus have four transitions (concave to
convex) while traversing its boundary. The number of ‘Four
Transition Faces’ would therefore be one. This is true for all
through slots except circular and V through slots. Other
feature families either don’t have a ‘Four Transition Face’
or have more than one ‘Four Transition Face’ (viz.
passage).
Node 11 This node stores the total number of faces in the
set of connected candidate faces that can form a feature
(obtained after preprocessing of the CAD part model,
Sect. 5.1). This attribute can aid ANN in classifying sub-
feature types in the feature families.
Node 12 This node stores the number of external faces
attached to the set of connected candidate faces. Only those
external faces are counted that lie on different surface
geometries. Rectangular through slot feature shown in
Fig. 3, has 4 external faces (E, F, G & D) connected to
candidate faces (A, B & C). But D and E lie on the same
940 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2009) 41:932–947

Table 3 Parameters considered for training and testing of the network be determined by any recipe [31]. It is a result of numerical
Dataset experimentation. In this work, architectures with one and
two hidden layers were considered. For both these
Training set 65x10 normalized input-target pairs architectures, the number of neurons in the hidden layers
Testing set 14 normalized input-target pairs was varied to obtain best learning and generalization
Network architectures and network parameters
performance. The output layer was chosen to have one
Network 12–16–1, 12–24–1, 12–30–1,
neuron which will signify the feature type. The various
architecture 12–24–16–1, 12–24–24–1
Transfer function Log Sigmoid, Tan Sigmoid, Pure Linear target values associated with each feature type are shown
per layer below each feature in bracket (Fig. 2a–c).
BP algorithm Gradient descent
Training parameters Node characteristics and learning rule Biases and weights
Learning rate 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 0.99 are initialized randomly. They are updated by the learning
Number of epochs 60,000, 120,000, 180,000 rule after each epoch of the training. Log sigmoid, tan
Performance measures
sigmoid, and pure linear transfer functions most commonly
Training error Max. training error
Number of training set features not recognized
used in BPNN were tried out in different combinations; for
Testing error Max. testing error example, using log sigmoid in all layers or using tan
Number of testing set features not recognized sigmoid in the hidden layers and log sigmoid in the output
layer, etc. It was found that using tan sigmoid in the hidden
layers and log sigmoid in the output layer resulted in faster
convergence and yielded better results. Gradient descent
surface geometry and are considered as one single external algorithm was used to train the neural network.
face. So, the total number of external faces will be three.
Through step from the geometry point of view, maps onto
two corners of the part and has four external faces. 5.2.3 Training and testing of the network
Information in Node 12 will help ANN in resolving the
conflict between through slot and through step feature The primary aim of training and testing the network was to
family. find a suitable network architecture and network parameters
In summary, the 12-node input vector for the rectangular of multi-layer feed-forward back-propagation network
through slot feature shown in Fig. 3 will be [0.5, 1.0, 1.5, (BPNN) that will enable learning all the input feature
1.5, 1.5, 1.5, 0.833, 3, 0, 1, 3, 3]. patterns and to further generalize them to recognize
In comparison to the FRV/matrix scheme in literature unknown feature patterns. As a result, numerical experi-
[14–24], it is felt that this 12-node feature RV will enable ments were carried out by varying network architecture and
unique and unambiguous representation of variable and network parameters like number of hidden layers, number
fixed topology features and do shape-based feature classi-
fication.

5.2.2 Selection of artificial neural network

In this work, a multi-layer feed-forward back-propagation

network (BPNN) has been chosen because it is known to
provide good learning and generalization capabilities for
pattern association and pattern recognition problems [31].
The details of network architecture, node characteristics,
and the learning rule are discussed below.

BPNN architecture Multi-layer feed-forward architectures

12-N-1 and 12-N1-N2−1 were selected for the task of
feature recognition. Figure 5 shows a 12-N1-N2−1 archi-
tecture, where N1 and N2 represents number of neurons in
hidden layer 1 and 2, respectively.
The input to the network is a 12-node vector that was
described in detail in Sect. 5.2.1. The number of hidden Fig. 6 Training curve of network 12–24T–24T–1L with lr = 0.6 and
layers as well as the number of neurons in each layer cannot epochs = 180,000
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2009) 41:932–947 941

Fig. 7 Case study 1 part – NIST

of neurons per hidden layer, transfer function per hidden Then the normalized value for nodes n1 to n12 is given
layer, BP algorithm and the training parameters like by
learning rate, number of epochs, etc. Further, this network  
ni
min
was tested for its generalization capability by presenting it Normalized Value ¼  0:9 þ 0:05 ; for 1  i  7
max
min
with unknown (unseen) feature patterns. Training and
testing was done using ANN Tool Box of MATLAB™. ð2Þ
Important steps are discussed below.
 ni 
A) Preparation of Dataset (Training and Testing Set) þ1
¼ 5
 0:9 þ 0:05 for i ¼ 8 ð3Þ
Initial dataset comprised of 79 pairs of different input 2
vectors (FRVs) corresponding to different features and their
associated target value. Out of this dataset of 79 pairs, 65 8 9
< 0:05 if ni ¼ 0 =
pairs were used as the training set and the remaining 14
¼ 0:95 if ni ¼ 1 ; for i ¼ 9; 10 ð4Þ
pairs as the testing set. The training set was populated by : ;
0:50 if ni > 1
replicating each of the 65 input-target pairs ten times.
Normalization of input vectors and target values was done
to get good convergence. The order of normalized input-
Table 4 List of features recognized - Case Study 1 part
target pair in the training set was randomized before
presenting it to the ANN. Feature type Number of instances

Rectangular pocket 7
Normalization of Input Vector The input vectors were
Obround pocket 2
normalized in the parameter range of 0.05 to 0.95. Out of N Side convex pocket 3
the input vector nodes n1 to n12, node values n1 to n7 are N Side concave pocket 36
real numbers and node values n8 to n12 are integers. N Side concave blind step 3
Rectangular blind slot 3
Let, N Side convex blind slot 2
min = minimum value in the set of all input vector nodes N Side concave blind slot 9
n1 to n7 present in the dataset. N Side concave through slot 1
Blind Hole 1
max = maximum value in the set of all input vector
Total no. of features recognized 67
nodes n1 to n7 present in the dataset.
942 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2009) 41:932–947

Fig. 8 Case study 2 part – GSSL

– Train the network. The network was trained by varying

8 9 the training parameters like number of epochs and
>
> 0:05 if ni ¼ 1 >
>
>
> >
>
> 0:25 if ni ¼ 2 >
>
>
learning rate.
< = – Test the network. Testing of the trained network was
0:45 if ni ¼ 3
¼ ; for i ¼ 11 ð5Þ carried out in two phases. Firstly, it was tested with
>
> 0:65 if ni ¼ 4 >
>
>
> >
>
> 0:85 if ni ¼ 5 >
>
>
known input vectors (training set) to check the
: ;
0:95 if ni  6 number of training set features not recognized. In the
second phase of the testing, it is tested with unknown
  input vectors (testing set) to check the number of
0:05 if ni 6¼ 4
¼ ; for i ¼ 12 ð6Þ testing set features not recognized.
0:95 if ni ¼ 4

Fixing Target Value The target values for different features
are shown in Fig. 2a–c. The target values were chosen [0.1,
0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7 and 0.8] such that they
correspond to the feature families of pocket, passage, blind
step, through step, blind slot, through slot, blind hole and
through hole, respectively. In a feature family, each sub
feature was given a target value incrementing by 0.02.
Since target values are already in the range of 0 to 1, there
is no need to further normalize the target values.
B) Training and Testing Methodology
Error value is computed as the absolute numerical
difference between expected target value of a feature and
the simulated output from ANN. It can be seen that the
minimum separation between two target values is 0.02
(Fig. 2a–c). So a particular feature is recognized if its
absolute error value is less than 0.01. If the absolute error
value is greater than 0.01 means the feature is wrongly
Table 5 List of features recognized - case study 2 part

Feature type Number of instances

Table 3 shows the various parameters considered for
Rectangular pocket 10
training and testing the network. The methodology used is N Side concave pocket 17
given below: N Side Concave blind step 8
– Select a network architecture: Some of the network Rectangular blind slot 7
Blind hole 12
architectures (single and two hidden layer networks)
Total no. of features recognized 54
considered for training and testing are given in Table 3.
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2009) 41:932–947 943

Fig. 9 Case study 3 part

classified by the network into a different feature type and is A large number of numerical experiments were carried
said to be ‘not recognized’. Going by this approach the out to come up with an optimum BPNN network configu-
‘number of features not recognized’ in training or testing set ration as under:
is found.
Network Type: Feed-forward back-propagation
Training and testing results are presented in the next
No. of Layers: 3 (two hidden and one output layer)
section.
Hidden Layer1: 24 neurons and TANSIG Transfer
C) Training and Testing Results Function
Hidden Layer2: 24 neurons and TANSIG Transfer
Different network architectures with single and two
Function
hidden layers and network parameters (Table 3) were
Output Layer: 1 neuron and LOGSIG Transfer
trained and tested for learning and generalization capability.
Function
It was found that networks with a single hidden layer (12–
Training Function: traingd (Gradient Descent)
16–1, 12–24–1, 12–30–1) were not able to recognize all the
Learning Function: learngd (Gradient Descent)
features and increasing the number of hidden layer neurons
Performance Function: mse (Mean Square Error)
from 24 to 30 did not improve their performance. Single
Learning Rate: 0.6
hidden layer networks showed good learning capability
Number of Epochs: 180,000
with a learning rate of 0.6. Networks with two hidden
layers (12–24–16–1, 12–24–24–1) was then trained and
tested with learning rate of 0.6 by varying the number of
epochs. It was found that the network 12–24–24–1 got fully
trained and recognized all the features in the training set. It
had tan sigmoid transfer function in the hidden layers and
log sigmoid transfer function in the output layer. It was Table 6 List of features recognized – case study 3 part
trained with a learning rate of 0.6 and number of epochs as Feature type Number of instances
180,000. Training time was approximately 30 min on a
Pentium IV PC configuration. It also showed good Rectangular pocket 5
generalization capability by recognizing all the features in Rectangular blind slot 4
Blind hole 4
the testing set (unseen patterns). Figure 6 shows the training
Total no. of features recognized 13
curve of the same.
944 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2009) 41:932–947

5.3 Feature representation and application interface
For each feature classified by ANN, the feature parameters
like feature type, shape, dimensions (like length, width,
height, diameter), position, access directions, etc. and
geometry details such as bottom contour, sweep direction,
extrusion height, etc. are computed using ACIS APIs/Direct
Interfaces. These parameters are stored using object-
oriented programming (OOP) style to get a feature-based
part model. The feature data was finally written into a text
file with a native feature-based format similar to STEP.
Figure 10a shows a typical feature-based model file format

Feature File from ANN based WebNC Feature File (*.prt) generated by
Feature Recognition System Translator
FeatureID: 0 PART
FeatureType: Block PART_ID 1
FeatureSubType: Rectangular MATERIAL Aluminium
---- UNITS mm
---- FEATURE Gross
FeatureID: 1 Type Extrusion
FeatureType: Blind Hole SubType Block
FeatureSubType: None ID 0
Position: 67.500 57.500 90.000 Name Block
Dimension: Length Width Height ---
Value: 5.000 5.000 10.000 ---
TAD: 0.000 0.000 1.000 END FEATURE
GEOMETRY FEATURE Local
CONTOUR Type Pocket
---- SubType Contour
END CONTOUR ID 1
Sweep_Direction: 0.000 0.000 1.000 Name SimpleHole
Extrusion_Height: 10.000 Reference FEATURE_ID 0 FEATURE_FACE_ID 5
END GEOMETRY Location 70 60 100
---- Orientation X 1.000000 0.000000 0.000000 Y 0.000000 1.000000
--- 0.000000 Z 0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
FeatureID: 5 INFORMATION
FeatureType: Blind Slot FeatureID 1
FeatureSubType: Rectangular FEATURE_TYPE:Hole;Simple
Position: 35.000 0.000 90.000 Dimension:Radius;Depth;Taper
Dimension: Length Width Height Value:2.5;10;0
Value: 30.000 20.000 10.000 ACCESS_DIRECTIONS:0.000000,0.000000,1.000000
TAD: 0.000 -1.000 0.000 END INFORMATION
TAD: 0.000 0.000 1.000 END FEATURE
GEOMETRY -----
CONTOUR -----
---- ID 5
END CONTOUR Name RectangularSlot
Sweep_Direction: 0.000 0.000 1.000 Reference FEATURE_ID 0 FEATURE_FACE_ID 5
Extrusion_Height: 10.000 ---
END GEOMETRY INFORMATION
---- FeatureID 5
--- FEATURE_TYPE:Slot;Rectangular
FeatureID: 13 Dimension:Height;Width;Depth
FeatureType: Pocket Value:20;30;10
FeatureSubType: Rectangular ACCESS_DIRECTIONS:0.000000,0.000000,1.000000;0.000000,-
Position: 70.000 70.000 90.000 1.000000,0.000000
Dimension: Length Width Height END INFORMATION
Value: 20.000 20.000 10.000 END FEATURE
TAD: 0.000 0.000 1.000 ----
GEOMETRY ----
CONTOUR FEATURE Local
--- Type Pocket
END CONTOUR SubType Contour
Sweep_Direction: 0.000 0.000 1.000 ID 13
Extrusion_Height: 10.000 Name RectangularPocket
END GEOMETRY Reference FEATURE_ID 0 FEATURE_FACE_ID 5
---
INFORMATION
FeatureID 13
Dimension:Length;Width;Depth;Cornerrad;Taper
Value:20;20;10;0;0
ACCESS_DIRECTIONS:0.000000,0.000000,1.000000
END INFORMATION
END FEATURE
END PART

(a) (b)
Fig. 10 a FR Feature text file; b WebNC PRT file
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2009) 41:932–947 945

generated by the current system for a typical part shown in (feature file) and its integration with WebNC, a Web-based
the Fig. 9. This feature-based model file can be used for CAPP software for feature-based CNC programming
linking to various downstream applications like CAPP by indigenously developed at CAM Lab, IIT Bombay (http://
developing suitable post processors. This is explained webnc.cam.iitb.ac.in). WebNC uses a feature-based design
further in case study 3, Sect. 6. philosophy to model a part and saves the part in its native *.
PRT feature file format. The machining features supported
by WebNC are quite limited compared to the feature
6 Results and discussions taxonomy recognized in this work (Fig. 2a–c).
In the current work, an application interface was
The feature-recognition system has been implemented in developed to demonstrate the feasibility of integrating the
VC++ and uses ACIS™ kernel [32, 33] and MATLAB™ developed feature-recognition system to drive an end
Engine and runs on Pentium IV PC. The input to the system
is the SAT files of part and stock solid model. The part and
stock SAT files are either taken from the standard
repositories like NIST [34] or are modeled in Solidworks™
CAD modeling software and exported to SAT file format.
Neural Network Toolbox of MATLAB™ was used for
training and testing the network. The trained network is
seamlessly integrated with our system using the MAT
LAB™ engine APIs.
Various case study CAD models having complex
machining features with fixed and variable topology were
used to test the accuracy and performance of the developed
ANN-based FR system. The dataset comprised of both
known (seen) or unknown (unseen) feature patterns. The
dataset was progressively enhanced by adding the unrec-
ognized feature patterns into the training set and selected
recognized feature patterns to the testing set. The enhanced
dataset comprised of 95 training pairs and 20 testing pairs.
With the enhanced training set, the network 12–24–24–1
was again trained with same training parameters. It got fully
trained recognizing all the training features and was also
able to recognize unseen features. Typical case studies are
reported here.

Case study 1 Figure 7 shows a part taken from the NIST

Repository [34], which has been modified to filter out
interacting features and the fillets. Fillet deletion is usually
performed as the first step in design feature recognition
since it simplifies the model for recognition of volumetric
features [35]. Left pane of the system (Fig. 7) shows the
tree of recognized features. The part had 67 non-interacting
machining features shown in Table 4. All features were
correctly recognized by the ANN-based FR system in
approximately 5 s.

Case study 2 Figure 8 shows a part taken form the GSSL’s

Manufacturing View demo version software [36]. Our FR
system correctly recognized all the 54 non-interacting
machining features on the part (Table 5) in about 4 s.

Case study 3 This case study primarily focused upon the

post processing of the extracted feature data by our system Fig. 11 Process-planning sheet generated by WebNC
946
application (WebNC). A data translator was written to
convert the feature model file generated by the feature-
recognition system to the WebNC feature file format
(*.PRT). Figure 9 shows a typical part modeled in Solid-
Works™ and is saved in ACIS file format (*.SAT). It has
13 non-interacting machining features shown in Table 6.
All were correctly recognized by our ANN-based FR
system (Fig. 9). Figure 10 shows the feature file generated
by the FR system and the translated (*.PRT) file for
WebNC. Figure 11 shows the process-planning sheet
generated by WebNC and Fig. 12 shows the simulation of
automatically generated CNC code by WebNC in a
commercial simulator CNC Train™, from CNC Simulation
Systems Ltd., UK.
7 Conclusions
This work proposed and implemented an intelligent system
for recognizing prismatic part machining features from B-
Rep CAD models using artificial neural network. The 12-
node feature representation vector (FRV) scheme designed
in this work was able to uniquely represent a large variety
of feature families (such as pockets, passages, blind slots,
through slots, blind steps, and through steps) having
variations in topology and geometry in an unambiguous
manner and further do shape-based feature classification. In
comparison to the earlier ANN-based FR systems for
Fig. 12 Simulation of CNC code generated by WebNC in CNCTrain™
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2009) 41:932–947
recognizing different feature types, the 12-node FRV
scheme developed in this work enabled a single BPNN to
be sufficient for the task of intelligent feature recognition.
Extensive training and testing of various network
architectures were carried out by varying number of hidden
layers, number of neurons per hidden layer, transfer
function per layer and the training parameters. Two
hidden layer network architecture 12–24–24–1 having tan
sigmoid transfer function for the hidden layers and log
sigmoid transfer function for the output layer was found as
optimum network configuration. It showed a very good
generalization capability by recognizing all the seen
features and many unseen feature patterns. The system
was tested on a number of standard benchmark components
and was found to be robust, consistent, and computationally
fast.
The features recognized by the developed FR system
were post-processed to create feature-based model in native
format. The feature-based model file was translated and
linked to a feature-based CAPP system for CNC machin-
ing. It successfully demonstrated the seamless integration
from a CAD model (ACIS format) to a feature-based
automatic CNC code generation.
The FR system had to be retrained and retested if any
new feature template is added to training set. Future work
would include extension of the feature representation vector
scheme to enhance the capabilities of the FR system for
recognizing interacting features with wider variety of
topology and geometry variations.
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2009) 41:932–947
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