Network-centric feature-based modeling

Network and Internet technology opens up another domain for building future CAD/CAM environments. The environment will be global, network-centric, and spatially distributed. We present an approach for network-centric feature-based modeling in a distributed design environment. The presented approach combines the current feature-based modeling technique with distributed computing and communication technology for supporting product modeling and collaborative design activities over the network. The approach is implemented in a client/server architecture, in which Web-enabled feature modeling clients, neutral feature model server, and other applications communicate with one another via a standard communication protocol. The paper discusses how the neutral feature model supports multiple views and maintains naming consistency between geometric entities of the server and clients. Moreover, it explains how to minimize the network delay between the server and client according to incremental feature modeling operations