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Slicing heterogeneous solid using octree-based subdivision and trivariate T-splines for additive manufacturing

Bin Li (College of Mechanical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; College of Mechanical Engineering, Key Laboratory of 3D Printing Process and Equipment of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China and Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA)
Jianzhong Fu (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China)
Yongjie Jessica Zhang (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA)
Weiyi Lin (College of Mechanical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China and College of Mechanical Engineering, Key Laboratory of 3D Printing Process and Equipment of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China)
Jiawei Feng (College of Mechanical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China and College of Mechanical Engineering, Key Laboratory of 3D Printing Process and Equipment of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China)
Ce Shang (College of Mechanical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China and College of Mechanical Engineering, Key Laboratory of 3D Printing Process and Equipment of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China)

Rapid Prototyping Journal

ISSN: 1355-2546

Article publication date: 30 September 2019

Issue publication date: 8 January 2020

374

Abstract

Purpose

Majority of the existing direct slicing methods have generated precise slicing contours from different surface representations, they do not carry any interior information. Whereas, heterogeneous solids are highly preferable for designing and manufacturing sophisticated models. To directly slice heterogeneous solids for additive manufacturing (AM), this study aims to present an algorithm using octree-based subdivision and trivariate T-splines.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a direct slicing algorithm for heterogeneous solids using T-splines, which can be applied to AM based on the fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology. First, trivariate T-splines are constructed using a harmonic field with the gradient direction aligning with the slicing direction. An octree-based subdivision algorithm is then used to directly generate the sliced layers with heterogeneous materials. For FDM-based AM applications, the heterogeneous materials of each sliced layer are discretized into a finite number of partitions. Finally, boundary contours of each separated partition are extracted and paired according to the rules of CuraEngine to generate the scan path for FDM machines equipped with multi-nozzles.

Findings

The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is effective and reliable, especially for solid objects with multiple materials, which could maintain the model integrity throughout the process from the original representation to the final product in AM.

Originality/value

Directly slicing heterogeneous solid using trivariate T-splines will be a powerful supplement to current technologies in AM.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Kuanren Qian for helping proofread the paper. This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China [No. 51521064, No. 51575483]. B. Li was also supported by Zhejiang University Scholarship for Doctoral Candidates’ International Cooperation and Exchange. Y. Zhang was supported in part by the PECASE Award N00014-16-1-2254 and a grant from Manufacturing Futures Initiative in Carnegie Mellon University.

Citation

Li, B., Fu, J., Zhang, Y.J., Lin, W., Feng, J. and Shang, C. (2020), "Slicing heterogeneous solid using octree-based subdivision and trivariate T-splines for additive manufacturing", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 164-175. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-11-2018-0287

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

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