A state machine for real-time cutting of tetrahedral meshes

We introduce an algorithm that consistently and accurately processes arbitrary intersections in tetrahedral meshes in real-time. The intersection surfaces are modeled up to the current cut tool position at every point in time. Tetrahedra are subdivided by using a progressive method, which inserts the required sub-structures step by step. A state machine tracks the topology of each tetrahedron and controls the progressive subdivision. In order to keep the state machine as small and clear as possible, each topological pattern of a tetrahedral intersection appears only once. These topological patterns are mapped onto the actual case of a tetrahedral intersection by some given transformation operations. The state transitions, which contain the specific subdivision operations, are described in a predefined lookup table, which is written in a simple script language. The handling of reverse movements and possible trembling of the users hand, as well as a recursive continuation of the state machine concept, complement the proposed algorithm. In three examples, covering free form modeling, volume visualization, and surgery simulation, we indicate the large field of applications in which our algorithm can be utilized.