Fast Verification of Space Based on Hierarchical Bounding Boxes in Virtual Assembly

Tools are required to install or disassemble parts in virtual assembly or virtual maintenance. Tools need proper movement space, and components also need proper movement space for installation or disassembly. The movement mode of tools is mostly moving or rotating, and the movement mode of parts is mostly moving mode. The size of the movement space is one of the important factors to evaluate the performance of assembly or maintainability. Therefore, it is necessary to detect the collision of parts or tools when moving in the space and measure the size of the movement space. Aiming at the problems of the accuracy, low efficiency and even lack of algorithms for the calculation of the movable space in the existing virtual assembly and maintenance, we proposed an algorithm that can quickly and accurately calculate the collision verification of parts in the movable space. The algorithm firstly stretches the bounding box and triangle of the selected part to simulate object translation, then calculates the other parts colliding with the selected part on the path based on the detection algorithm of the hierarchical bounding box and triangle intersection, and finally calculates the collision distance by using dichotomy and progressive method.