3D Color Adjustment via 2D Patch Conversion
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Solution Overview
Problem
In three-dimensional object shaping systems, the colors of colored layers formed on the surface of a 3D object often differ from the desired colors due to variations in layer thickness and material, requiring repeated shaping, coloring, and adjustment processes, which is time-consuming.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that convert three-dimensional data into two-dimensional data, create two-dimensional and three-dimensional color patch data by setting color parameters at different levels, and layer color patches based on thickness information, allowing for efficient color adjustment without physically modeling and coloring the 3D object.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If repeated shaping, coloring, and adjustment processes are performed to achieve desired colors, then color accuracy is improved, but production time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by creating color patches with different thickness information before actual production. Multiple color patches representing different layer thicknesses are generated in advance, allowing the desired color to be determined prior to shaping. This eliminates the need for repeated trial production and adjustment, directly resolving the contradiction between color accuracy and production time.
2Measurement precision
If multiple color patches with different thickness information are created and layered, then color verification accuracy is improved, but data processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses copying by creating two-dimensional color patches that represent three-dimensional colored layers. These color patches are copies of the intended final appearance with varying thickness information encoded. By working with these simplified two-dimensional representations instead of full three-dimensional models, the system achieves accurate color verification while keeping data processing manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the color verification process into discrete color patches, each representing specific thickness variations. Instead of analyzing the entire three-dimensional object at once, the system segments the color space into multiple patches with different thickness parameters, making the verification process more manageable and systematic.
3Adaptability or versatility
If colored layers are formed with varying thicknesses, then color expression flexibility is improved, but color consistency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by systematically varying the thickness parameter of colored layers across different color patches. Each patch represents a specific thickness value, allowing the system to evaluate how thickness variations affect color expression. This enables selection of optimal thickness parameters that achieve both desired color flexibility and consistency.
Data Source
AI summary
A color adjustment unit in a shaping controller includes a 3D/2D conversion unit which converts 3D data representing a three-dimensional object having colored layers formed on the surface thereof into 2D data; a two-dimensional color patch data creating unit which creates, as two-dimensional color patch data, a plurality of 2D images in which at least one kind of parameter of a plurality of kinds of parameters related to a color of each layer of the colored layers in the converted 2D data is set at a plurality of different levels; a three-dimensional color patch data creating unit which applies thickness information about thicknesses of the colored layers depending on the number of layers of the colored layers to the two-dimensional color patch data to create three-dimensional color patch data; and a color patch layering unit which layers three-dimensional color patches depending on the thickness according to the three-dimensional color patch data.