Chapter 20 - Path planning and simulation for prototyping bio-inspired complex shapes

Abstract

Recently, additive manufacturing (AM) has been employed for prototyping personalized products. Bio-inspired shapes are increasingly used for various prototyping, but complex surface geometries are still not easy to manufacture with conventional methods or low-scale three-dimensional (3D) printing techniques. In this regard, path planning and simulation play a crucial role in generating and selecting an optimal path. Finding an optimal path for complex shapes, for example, bio-inspired products, should minimize production costs and improve tool path efficiency. In this context, either the Cartesian or robot systems can be considered as AM tools. However, creating an efficient path for complex surfaces inspired by biological nature may require a novel path planning approach. Therefore, generic path planning and modeling are desired to use in either robot or Cartesian systems used as AM technology. This research focuses on a novel computational method of path planning from a computer-aided design model using the slicing of algorithms. To make the path planning efficient, accelerated data structures are implemented by sorting the slicer along the z-plane. Finally, a simulation is conducted to validate the planned path. The results show that a tool path optimization for each sliced surface plane may help to improve build time, support design, and enhance mechanical properties in 3D printing. The ultimate goal is to explore multiaxis systems such as robots as a 3D printing tool.