Automatic layout of 2D free-form shapes based on geometric similarity feature searching and fuzzy matching

Two-dimensional (2D) irregular layout is widely applied in various manufacturing processes, such as sheet metal cutting, shipbuilding, and electronic component placement. An efficient layout algorithm can effectively improve the material utilization, thereby reducing manufacturing cost. But the free-form shape layout problem is very challenge as it is difficult to exactly represent a free-form shape. There is not an efficient method currently available for the 2D free-form shape layout. This paper proposes a method based on the geometric similarity feature searching and fuzzy matching for the 2D free-form shape layout. The freeman chain code is developed to describe the contour information of shapes and forward-lines to form the basis of the layout strategy. A strategy based on fuzzy matching is proposed for the layout, which includes searching geometric similarity features using the longest common subsequence and the proposed placement algorithm to complete the collision. Three computational experiments are conducted to analyze the performance of the proposed method. Experimental results show that the proposed method is feasible and effective with the good applicability to achieve a high filling rate in reduced time.