Synchronized physical and analytical representations of a CAD model

• US 20070174026A1
• Filed: 01/25/2006
• Published: 07/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Autodesk, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Autodesk, Inc.
• Inventors: Lipkin, Lev, Mangon, Nicolas
• Granted Patent: US 7,761,266 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 703/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/13 Architectural design, e.g. computer-aided architectural design [CAAD] related to design of buildings, bridges, landscapes, production plants or roads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/20 Design optimisation, verification or simulation optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30

Abstract

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for providing a computer aided design (CAD) model comprising a plurality of physical elements. An analytical representation of the plurality of physical elements is generated. The analytical representation comprising a plurality of analytical elements corresponding to the physical elements. An association between each analytical element and corresponding physical element is generated such that a modification to one element can be applied to modify a corresponding other.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

providing a computer aided design (CAD) model comprising a plurality of physical elements;

generating an analytical representation of the plurality of physical elements, the analytical representation comprising a plurality of analytical elements corresponding to the physical elements; and

generating an association between each analytical element and corresponding physical element such that a modification to one element can be applied to modify a corresponding other.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

performing a structural analysis of the CAD model based on the analytical representation.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

modifying the analytical representation based on the structural analysis.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

modifying one or more of the plurality of physical elements based on the modification to the analytical representation.

5. The method of claim 1, where providing a CAD model comprises receiving user input creating the CAD model.

6. The method of claim 1, where providing a CAD model comprises importing an existing CAD model.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a user input modifying a physical element;

modifying the physical element in accordance with the user input; and

modifying a corresponding analytical element based on the modification to the physical element.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a user input modifying an analytical element;

modifying the analytical element in accordance with the user input; and

modifying a corresponding physical element based on the modification to the analytical element.

9. The method of claim 1, where:

a physical element has an associated a physical appearance.

10. The method of claim 1, where:

an analytical element is a point-to-point wire frame representation of a corresponding physical element.

11. The method of claim 1, where:

one or more of the analytical elements include a variation from the corresponding one or more physical elements, where the variation facilitates a structural analysis of the analytical representation.

12. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving a user input to modify one of a physical element or an analytical element corresponding to the physical element;

if the physical element is modified, automatically modifying the analytical element to reflect the modification to the physical element;

if the analytical element is modified, automatically modifying the physical element to reflect the modification to the analytical element; and

where the physical element is included in a physical representation of a computer aided design (CAD) model and the analytical element is included in an analytical representation of the CAD model.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

performing a structural analysis of the CAD model based on the analytical representation.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

modifying the analytical representation based on the structural analysis.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

modifying the CAD model based on the structural analysis.

16. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

performing a structural analysis of an analytical representation of a computer aided design (CAD) model;

automatically modifying the analytical representation of the CAD model based on the structural analysis; and

modifying the CAD model in accordance with the modification to the analytical representation of the CAD model.

17. The method of claim 16, where:

modifying the CAD model includes resizing one or more physical elements in the CAD model.

18. The method of claim 16, where:

modifying the CAD model includes updating one or more attributes associated with a physical element in the CAD model with information generated by the structural analysis.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

presenting the analytical representation as a point-to-point wire frame representation of the CAD model.

20. A computer program product, encoded on an information carrier, comprising instructions operable to cause a data processing apparatus to perform:

providing a computer aided design (CAD) model comprising a plurality of physical elements;

generating an analytical representation of the plurality of physical elements, the analytical representation comprising a plurality of analytical elements corresponding to the physical elements; and

generating an association between each analytical element and corresponding physical element such that a modification to one element can be applied to modify a corresponding other.