Some heuristics of helical sweep surfaces in ISO 10303 STEP AP203 file to identify threaded features

STandard for the Exchange of Product Model Data (STEP) is a neutral format file that carries life cycle information of solid models. The main objective of the neutral file is to communicate or exchange the data with different CAD/CAM systems. There are different neutral files before the evolution of STEP file like IGES, DXF, STL etc., but these neutral files could not carry the lifecycle data of the solid model. The maximum data that needs to be exchanged during the CAD/CAM cycle includes features. The objective of this article is to analyze the helical surface features represented in underlying EXPRESS schema format of ISO 10303 STEP AP203 file for threaded features. A heuristic approach is suggested to identify different forms of helical sweep surface geometry features. The helical surfaces are generally used for generating the different forms of threads, like square, knuckle or other forms of threads, which are frequently used in solid model designing. Therefore, identification of such type of features is important for downstream applications.