LayTracks3D: Mesh Generator for General Assembly Models using Medial Axis Transform

This research note presents an extension of all-quad meshing algorithm called LayTracks to generate high quality hex and hex-dominant meshes of 3D assembly models. LayTracks3D uses the mapping between the Medial Axis (MA) and the boundary of the 3D domain to decompose complex 3D domains into simpler domains called Tracks. Tracks in 3D are tunnels with no branches and are symmetric, non-intersecting, orthogonal to the boundary, and shortest path from MA to the boundary. These properties of the tracks result in near cube shape elements at the boundary, structured mesh along the boundary normal with any irregular nodes restricted to the MA, sharp boundary feature preservation, and potential all-hex mesh. The algorithm has been tested on a few industrial CAD models and work is underway to achieve all-hex meshes on general assembly models.