THE LEGACY OF AUTOMATIC MESH GENERATION FROM SOLID MODELING

This paper briefly reviews early efforts to automatically create finite element meshes from solid models. Although parametrically defined blocks of finite elements initially dominated mesh generation, the creation of complex solids forced mesh generation away from the direct use of parametrizations. This review emphasizes the earliest and most important techniques for mesh generation that relied on solid modeling. In addition to including a brief summary of parametrically defined meshes, this review also includes the more recent advancing front technique. This paper concludes with brief remarks that incorporate current directions and developments in automating mesh generation.