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Which responsibilities belong in the kernel, the adapter, and the CAD application?
A modeling engine is an architectural dependency: its data representation, numerical behavior, API conventions, and failure modes affect how the whole product works. Separate those concerns early so a kernel-specific detail does not become an accidental application-wide contract.
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| Layer | Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Geometric modeling kernel | Precise geometry and topology work, including curve and surface construction, intersections, Boolean operations, and transformations. |
| Adapter | Kernel-facing conversion, API-specific conventions, operation status and diagnostics, and the rules for ownership and object lifetime. |
| CAD application | Documents, feature parameters and dependencies, assemblies, commands, interaction, undo/redo, and domain-specific engineering information. |
| Graphics layer | Tessellated display geometry and the mapping between rendered selections and model entities. |
The adapter should provide a consistent integration surface without concealing concepts the application needs to reason about, such as bodies, faces, and curves. Keep direct kernel calls out of UI event handlers and unrelated application modules.
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Represent a feature as a pipeline with explicit inputs, results, and failure handling. For example, a hole feature can use its parameters to construct and position a cylindrical tool body, subtract that tool from the target body, validate the result, and then update the application document.
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- Read feature intent. Collect the feature’s parameters and references to its inputs from application data.
- Prepare input geometry. Convert or construct the geometry required by the operation through the adapter.
- Run kernel operations. Perform the modeling steps without tying them to a UI event handler.
- Validate the result. Check the resulting shape at appropriate boundaries and retain any useful diagnostics.
- Update application state. Apply the operation’s defined replace-or-update rule, refresh dependent features, and return a clear success or failure status.
A failed fillet, offset, Boolean, or downstream rebuild is a possible operation result—not an exceptional condition the application can ignore. Propagate status and diagnostics so the document does not silently treat a failed operation as a valid new body.
How do you keep references and model history valid after edits?
Store semantic references, not assumptions about face identity
Booleans, fillets, and reconstruction can replace or reorganize faces and edges. A stored low-level reference may then point to an obsolete entity. Keep references in application-level terms—such as the intended edge role or the feature that created it—and resolve them against the updated model after an operation. Dimensions, machining operations, and later features all depend on this distinction.
Rebuild from feature intent
For a parametric model, retain feature definitions, parameters, and dependencies as application data. When an upstream input changes, regenerate kernel geometry in dependency order. A fillet should retain its radius and semantic edge references, for example, rather than relying only on the previous B-Rep result. This gives the application the information needed to reconstruct downstream geometry after an edit.
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How should ownership, mutation, and object lifetime be defined?
Before kernel calls spread across the product, document the lifetime rules in the adapter and modeling layer. Verify them against the selected SDK’s actual contracts; they differ by library and operation.
- Identify which layer owns each kernel object and when temporary geometry is released.
- Determine whether an operation copies or shares entities.
- Specify whether an operation mutates a body or returns a replacement, and how the application adopts that result.
- Define when references are invalidated, refreshed, or resolved again.
- Confirm the SDK’s memory-management and threading requirements before sharing objects across tasks.
These rules affect more than memory safety. They determine whether undo/redo can restore a coherent document, whether a failed rebuild leaves the previous body intact, and whether background operations can safely interact with application state.
How should exact model geometry relate to display geometry?
Keep the kernel’s precise geometric and topological representation separate from the tessellated mesh used to draw it. When a body changes, regenerate the necessary display tessellation and update affected visual objects. The mesh can be discarded and recreated; it is not a substitute for the engineering model.
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Selection needs a bridge between the two representations. When a user clicks a rendered triangle, map that selection back to the corresponding model face or edge before applying dimensions, constraints, or commands. Otherwise, the interface may select a display fragment that has no stable meaning in the model.
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What does a reliable import and exchange workflow include?
Treat file exchange as a sequence of inspection, translation, validation, and—where appropriate—healing, rather than as a file-extension checkbox. Open CASCADE Technology (OCCT) organizes exchange through modular format interfaces. Its project overview lists STEP AP203, AP214, and AP242; IGES; glTF 2.0; OBJ; VRML; and STL. It also describes XDE support for additional attributes such as colors, layers, names, and materials, plus optional advanced exchange components for ACIS SAT, Parasolid, DXF, IFC, and JT. Format and component availability can vary by OCCT release and configuration.
Use a staged translation process
- Load and inspect the file. Identify the content and, when appropriate, analyze its consistency before translation.
- Set translation parameters. Configure the exchange path for the geometry and metadata the application needs.
- Translate the selected content. Transfer the required entities; the workflow may support partial or total transfer.
- Check the transfer and resulting shapes. Review reported transfer status and validate the imported geometry.
- Heal only when appropriate. Apply supported shape-healing tools when needed, retaining diagnostics about any changes.
- Verify application-critical attributes. Do not assume that every imported attribute was translated just because it was loaded.
OCCT’s Parasolid Interface User’s Guide describes reading X_T and X_B files and translating matching geometry and topology into OCCT B-Rep shapes. With XDE, the documented flow also covers translating names, colors, and assembly structures. The guide describes file analysis, partial or total transfer, transfer checks, and healing; confirm the exact capabilities in the component and release you deploy.
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Where should validity checks and healing occur?
Check shapes at boundaries where invalid geometry could undermine later work. Useful points include after an external import, after a major Boolean, after topology-heavy feature reconstruction, and before handing a shape to CAM or CAE or storing it persistently, where those checks fit the product’s workflow.
Healing is not a neutral inspection step: a fixing operation may modify a shape or its sub-shapes. Preserve diagnostics and make the consequences visible to the application so it can update references and downstream features appropriately.
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There is no universal winner established by the available evidence. Evaluate candidates against the work the product must perform, not just a library’s name or a list of file extensions.
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| Decision area | Questions to answer |
|---|---|
| Operations and representation | Does the product need solids, surfaces, B-Rep, mesh processing, specialized geometry, or particular construction and editing operations? |
| Robustness and numerical behavior | How does the engine handle tolerances, exact or inexact computation where relevant, degenerate geometry, and nearly coincident entities? How are failures reported? |
| Interoperability | Which formats and versions are supported? Are partial transfer, assemblies, metadata, validation, and healing available for the required workflows? |
| API and build fit | Can the team integrate the language and runtime, packaging, build system, memory model, threading, portability, and debugging workflow it requires? |
| Application architecture fit | Can the integration support semantic references, feature reconstruction, display updates, selection mapping, and useful error propagation? |
| License and commercial terms | Do the terms for the specific release and any exchange components permit the intended use and distribution? Verify them directly with the project or vendor. |
CGAL’s 6.2.1 Developer Manual outlines topics including kernel concepts, geometric robustness, handles and reference counting, memory management, multithreading, portability, debugging, and CMake setup. Those topics are useful prompts for evaluating integration fit, not a substitute for checking the contracts of the release being adopted. Likewise, format lists and optional exchange components should be checked against the actual OCCT release and configuration.
What should be tested before relying on the integration?
Build tests around the product’s feature and exchange workflows, including both successful results and failures. A practical regression set should cover:
- Representative feature pipelines and parameter changes, including downstream rebuilds.
- Boolean and topology-changing operations followed by resolution of semantic references.
- Failed operations, ensuring the application reports the failure and preserves coherent document state.
- Import paths that exercise the required geometry, assemblies, names, colors, or other attributes.
- Validation and healing cases, including whether downstream references are refreshed after a shape changes.
- Display tessellation refresh and mapping from rendered selections back to model entities.
- Undo/redo and object-lifetime behavior under the SDK’s documented ownership and mutation rules.
Also verify the chosen SDK’s exception or status conventions, threading contract, memory ownership, and licensing for the exact release and components in the intended distribution.
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