A procedural method to exchange editable 3D data from a free-hand 2D sketch modeling system into 3D mechanical CAD systems

In the concept development phase, a designer wants to rapidly create a product's overall shape and user interfaces by making simple sketches, known as 'thumbnail sketches', to evaluate ideas and possibilities. Free-hand 2D sketch systems are regarded as a computerized tool for making thumbnail sketches. After the concept development phase, subsequent editing of the 3D data reconstructed from a free-hand 2D sketch with a 3D mechanical CAD system in the detail design phase is indispensable because inaccurate dimensions are inherent in a free-hand 2D sketch. For this reason, we present a new method to translate 3D data reconstructed from a free-hand 2D sketch into an editable form that reflects design intent so that the translated data can be directly used in 3D mechanical CAD systems. The feasibility of the proposed method has been demonstrated through experiments with prototype systems. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.