Data processing system and method for assembling components in a computer-aided design (CAD) environment

A data processing system for a computer-aided design (CAD) environment, the data processing system comprising:

• a processor;
• a display unit coupled to the processor;
• and an accessible memory coupled to the processor, wherein the accessible memory comprises a computer-aided design module configured to:
• determine at least one source component and a target component from a plurality of components in a CAD electronic file of the CAD environment, wherein the at least one source component and the target component represent different parts of a real-world object;
• determine one or more geometric features of the at least one source component and one or more geometric features of the target component;
• sequentially compare the geometric features of the at least one source component with the geometric features of the target component, wherein each of the geometric features of the component according to a sorted pre-determined order of comparison of geometric features, wherein the order of comparison represents the sequence of the comparison;
• generate constraints between the geometric features of the at least one source component and the geometric features of the target component based on an outcome of the comparison, wherein the computer-aided design module is further configured to:
• (a) determine a match between the geometric features of the at least one source component and the geometric features of the target component based on the outcome of comparison;
• (b) determine at least one location of placement of the at least one source component with respect to the target component based on the match;
• (c) determine a direction of placement of the at least one source component with respect to the target component;
• (d) compute assembly relationships between the matched pair of geometric features of the at least one source component and the target component based on the location and direction of placement of the at least one source component;
• and
• (e) generate constraints between the matched pair of geometric features of the at least one source component and the target component based on the computed assembly relationships between the matched pair of geometric features;
• and
• output a geometric model comprising an assembly of the at least one source component and the target component on the display unit.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions executable by a data processing system to assemble a plurality of components in a computer-aided design (CAD) environment, the instructions comprising:

• determining at least one source component and a target component from the plurality of components in a CAD electronic file of the CAD environment, wherein the at least one source component and the target component represent different parts of a real-world object;
• determining one or more geometric features of the at least one source component and one or more geometric features of the target component;
• sequentially comparing the geometric features of the at least one source component with the geometric features of the target component, wherein each of the geometric features of the source component is compared with at least one corresponding feature of the target component according to a sorted pre-determined order of comparison of geometric features,
• wherein the order of comparison represents the sequence of the comparison;
• generating constraints between the geometric features of the at least one source component and the geometric features of the target component based on an outcome of the comparison, wherein generating the constraints between the geometric features of the at least one source component and the geometric features of the target component comprises:
• (a) determining a match between the geometric features of the at least one source component and the geometric features of the target component based on the outcome of comparison;
• (b) determining at least one location of placement of the at least one source component with respect to the target component based on the match;
• (c) determining a direction of placement of the at least one source component with respect to the target component based on a set of predefined rules;
• (d) computing assembly relationships between the matched pair of geometric features of the at least one source component and the target component based on the location and direction of placement;
• and
• (e) generating constraints between the matched pair of geometric features of the at east one source component and the target component based on the computed assembly relationships between the matched pair of geometric features;
• and
• outputting a geometric model comprising an assembly of the at east one source component and the target component on a graphical user interface of the CAD environment.