From 3D Models to 3D Prints: an Overview of the Processing Pipeline

Due to the wide diffusion of 3D printing technologies, geometric algorithms for Additive Manufacturing are being invented at an impressive speed. Each single step, in particular along the Process Planning pipeline, can now count on dozens of methods that prepare the 3D model for fabrication, while analysing and optimizing geometry and machine instructions for various objectives. This report provides a classification of this huge state of the art, and elicits the relation between each single algorithm and a list of desirable objectives during Process Planning. The objectives themselves are listed and discussed, along with possible needs for tradeoffs. Additive Manufacturing technologies are broadly categorized to explicitly relate classes of devices and supported features. Finally, this report offers an analysis of the state of the art while discussing open and challenging problems from both an academic and an industrial perspective.Comment: European Union (EU); Horizon 2020; H2020-FoF-2015; RIA - Research and Innovation action; Grant agreement N. 68044

Virtual reality based creation of concept model designs for CAD systems

This work introduces a novel method to overcome most of the drawbacks in traditional methods for creating design models. The main innovation is the use of virtual tools to simulate the natural physical environment in which freeform. Design models are created by experienced designers. Namely, the model is created in a virtual environment by carving a work piece with tools that simulate NC milling cutters. Algorithms have been developed to support the approach, in which the design model is created in a Virtual Reality (VR) environment and selection and manipulation of tools can be performed in the virtual space. The desianer\u27s hand movements generate the tool trajectories and they are obtained by recording the position and orientation of a hand mounted motion tracker. Swept volumes of virtual tools are generated from the geometry of the tool and its trajectories. Then Boolean operations are performed on the swept volumes and the initial virtual stock (work piece) to create the design model. Algorithms have been developed as a part of this work to integrate the VR environment with a commercial CAD/CAM system in order to demonstrate the practical applications of the research results. The integrated system provides a much more efficient and easy-to-implement process of freeform model creation than employed in current CAD/CAM software. It could prove to be the prototype for the next-generation CAD/CAM system

Advanced Process Planning for Subtractive Rapid Prototyping

This paper presents process planning methods for Subtractive Rapid Prototyping, which deals with multiple setup operations and the related issues of stock material management. Subtractive Rapid Prototyping (SRP) borrows from additive rapid prototyping technologies by using 2½D layer based toolpath processing; however, it is limited by tool accessibility. To counter the accessibility problem, SRP systems (such as desktop milling machines) employ a rotary fourth axis to provide more complete surface coverage. However, layer-based removal processing from different rotary positions can be inefficient due to double-coverage of certain volumes. This paper presents a method that employs STL models of the in-process stock material generated from slices of the part along the rotation axis. The developed algorithms intend to improve the efficiency and reliability of these multiple layer-based removal steps for rapid manufacturing.Mechanical Engineerin

Rolling Shutter Stereo

A huge fraction of cameras used nowadays is based on CMOS sensors with a rolling shutter that exposes the image line by line. For dynamic scenes/cameras this introduces undesired effects like stretch, shear and wobble. It has been shown earlier that rotational shake induced rolling shutter effects in hand-held cell phone capture can be compensated based on an estimate of the camera rotation. In contrast, we analyse the case of significant camera motion, e.g. where a bypassing streetlevel capture vehicle uses a rolling shutter camera in a 3D reconstruction framework. The introduced error is depth dependent and cannot be compensated based on camera motion/rotation alone, invalidating also rectification for stereo camera systems. On top, significant lens distortion as often present in wide angle cameras intertwines with rolling shutter effects as it changes the time at which a certain 3D point is seen. We show that naive 3D reconstructions (assuming global shutter) will deliver biased geometry already for very mild assumptions on vehicle speed and resolution. We then develop rolling shutter dense multiview stereo algorithms that solve for time of exposure and depth at the same time, even in the presence of lens distortion and perform an evaluation on ground truth laser scan models as well as on real street-level data

A Method of Rendering CSG-Type Solids Using a Hybrid of Conventional Rendering Methods and Ray Tracing Techniques

This thesis describes a fast, efficient and innovative algorithm for producing shaded, still images of complex objects, built using constructive solid geometry ( CSG ) techniques. The algorithm uses a hybrid of conventional rendering methods and ray tracing techniques. A description of existing modelling and rendering methods is given in chapters 1, 2 and 3, with emphasis on the data structures and rendering techniques selected for incorporation in the hybrid method. Chapter 4 gives a general description of the hybrid method. This method processes data in the screen coordinate system and generates images in scan-line order. Scan lines are divided into spans (or segments) using the bounding rectangles of primitives calculated in screen coordinates. Conventional rendering methods and ray tracing techniques are used interchangeably along each scan-line. The method used is detennined by the number of primitives associated with a particular span. Conventional rendering methods are used when only one primitive is associated with a span, ray tracing techniques are used for hidden surface removal when two or more primitives are involved. In the latter case each pixel in the span is evaluated by accessing the polygon that is visible within each primitive associated with the span. The depth values (i. e. z-coordinates derived from the 3-dimensional definition) of the polygons involved are deduced for the pixel's position using linear interpolation. These values are used to determine the visible polygon. The CSG tree is accessed from the bottom upwards via an ordered index that enables the 'visible' primitives on any particular scan-line to be efficiently located. Within each primitive an ordered path through the data structure provides the polygons potentially visible on a particular scan-line. Lists of the active primitives and paths to potentially visible polygons are maintained throughout the rendering step and enable span coherence and scan-line coherence to be fully utilised. The results of tests with a range of typical objects and scenes are provided in chapter 5. These results show that the hybrid algorithm is significantly faster than full ray tracing algorithms

Impact of Heterogeneity on Production in Tidal Sandstone Reservoirs: Application to the Linnorm Field, Offshore Norway

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