Interactive Partitioning of 3D Models into Printable Parts

Area of Science:

• Computer-Aided Design (CAD)
• Computational Geometry
• Additive Manufacturing

Background:

• Partitioning large 3D models for 3D printing is challenging.
• Existing methods like Chopper can be computationally intensive and lack user flexibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an easy, flexible, and interactive tool for partitioning 3D models beyond standard 3D printer build volumes.
• To enhance the Chopper partitioning framework with user-centric operations.

Main Methods:

• The tool is built upon the Chopper partitioning optimization framework.
• Introduces three interactive operations: no-go region painting, cutting plane specification, and component re-union.
• Avoids exhaustive search in the Binary Space Partitioning (BSP) tree.

Main Results:

• Enables users to avoid time-consuming exhaustive searches in the BSP tree.
• Provides more flexible geometric configurations for partitioning.
• Accommodates user design intentions for customized 3D partitioning results.
• Demonstrated promising results across various 3D models.

Conclusions:

• The developed tool offers an effective and efficient solution for 3D model partitioning for additive manufacturing.
• Interactive features improve usability and allow for customized, user-driven partitioning outcomes.
• Preliminary user studies confirm the tool's effectiveness and efficiency.