Abstract
Surface-based geometric modeling has many advantages in terms of visualization and traditional subtractive manufacturing using computer-numerical-control cutting-machine tools. However, it is not an ideal solution for additive manufacturing because to digitally print a surface-represented geometric object using a certain additive manufacturing technology, the object has to be converted into a solid representation. However, converting a known surface-based geometric representation into a printable representation is essentially a redesign process, and this is especially the case, when its interior material structure needs to be considered. To specify a 3D geometric object that is ready to be digitally manufactured, its representation has to be in a certain volumetric form. In this research, we show how some of the difficulties experienced in additive manufacturing can be easily solved by using implicitly represented geometric objects. Like surface-based geometric representation is subtractive manufacturing-friendly, implicitly described geometric objects are additive manufacturing-friendly: implicit shapes are 3D printing ready. The implicit geometric representation allows to combine a geometric shape, material colors, an interior material structure, and other required attributes in one single description as a set of implicit functions, and no conversion is needed. In addition, as implicit objects are typically specified procedurally, very little data is used in their specifications, which makes them particularly useful for design and visualization with modern cloud-based mobile devices, which usually do not have very big storage spaces. Finally, implicit modeling is a design procedure that is parallel computing-friendly, as the design of a complex geometric object can be divided into a set of simple shape-designing tasks, owing to the availability of shape-preserving implicit blending operations.
Highlights
As envisioned in [1], the industrial revolution will be about the digitalization of the entire manufacturing process, right from the initial conceptual design, to the manufacturing of the required product in the final stage of the process
The geometric objects created by conventional computeraided design (CAD) techniques are mostly represented by surfaces, which is an ideal solution for the visualization and traditional subtractive manufacturing using computer numerical control (CNC) cutting machine tools, where an object is digitally manufactured by means of drilling, cutting, and slicing
The goal of this study is to show that implicit modeling can play an important role in additive manufacturing (AM) and to promote research on the development of AM-oriented CAD techniques
Summary
As envisioned in [1], the industrial revolution will be about the digitalization of the entire manufacturing process, right from the initial conceptual design, to the manufacturing of the required product in the final stage of the process. Before moving to the following sections for more detailed descriptions of some implicit modeling techniques, we illustrate some simple implicit objects in Fig. 1 and show why implicit geometric modeling is 3D printing friendly As it can be seen later, the 3D forms shown in Fig. 1 can all be represented by a simple implicit function, varying from a surface to a volumetric solid with different interior material and supporting structures. To achieve a high level of smoothness around the vertices, when using the distance function to a polygon, a relatively larger value of the distance function has to be used, which will subsequently result in a poor approximation of the original geometric Another way of constructing a free-form implicit shape is to specify an object as a point cloud and construct an implicit function from the given point set based on a certain surface approximation and interpolation technique [26, 29,30,31].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Visual Computing for Industry, Biomedicine, and Art
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
