Multi-material 3D Model Data Structure for Additive Manufacturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current 3D modeling technologies are limited in their ability to efficiently create and manipulate multi-material three-dimensional models, particularly in additive manufacturing, where different material properties at various locations are difficult to represent and combine effectively.
Innovation Solution
A flexible 3D data structure that allows for the simultaneous representation and manipulation of different material properties using various data formats and resolutions, enabling the creation of objects with complex, spatially varying properties by integrating multiple representations within a common 3D coordinate system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional CAD software uses surface-only representations (BREP), then the modeling process is simple and efficient, but the ability to represent multi-material properties and volumetric information is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the 3D model into multiple volumetric representations, each handling different material properties independently. This allows each property to be modeled with appropriate data structures while maintaining overall model integrity through spatial collocation of these segmented representations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates composite 3D models that integrate multiple material property representations (surface, volume, voxel) into a unified structure. This composite approach enables the model to represent complex multi-material objects by combining different representation types rather than using a single homogeneous structure.
2Manufacturing precision
If volumetric representations (voxel structures) are used to describe inherently volumetric objects, then the ability to represent volume properties is improved, but the efficiency and flexibility for manipulating different data formats is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal 3D model data structure that can accommodate multiple data formats (surface, volume, voxel) within a single framework. This multi-functional structure allows the system to manipulate different data types efficiently while maintaining volumetric precision when needed, rather than being constrained to a single representation type.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple data format representations are used for different material properties, then the representation of complex material properties is improved, but the difficulty of integrating and manipulating these representations increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple data format representations (surface, volume, voxel) into a single integrated 3D model structure. This combining approach allows different material properties to be represented with their optimal data formats while the unified structure simplifies manipulation and processing compared to handling separate representations independently.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including medium-encoded computer program products, facilitate creation and use of 3D models of objects with different material properties. In one aspect, a method includes specifying a continuous data format representation for a first property of an object and a discretized data format representation for a second property of the object, wherein the first property and the second property are different from each other; producing a 3D model of the object within a 3D space using the continuous and discretized data format representations, which overlap with each other in all three dimensions in at least a portion of the 3D space; and using at least one common access method into the 3D model of the object to obtain data from both the continuous and discretized data format representations, within the portion of the 3D space, to manufacture the object using one or more manufacturing processes.