- Number
- 10025882
- Published
- 2018-07-17
- Filed
- 2012-08-14
- Assignee
- Disney Enterprises, Inc.
- Inventors
- Baran; Ilya; Luo; Linjie; Matusik; Wojciech
- CPC
- B29C64/386; G06F30/00
- Verdict
- Low Notable software
- Source
- Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline
The keeper's note
3D-printable model partitioning (fabrication pipeline).
Abstract
The disclosure provides a technique for recursively partitioning a 3D model of an object into two or more components such that each component fits within a predefined printing volume. The technique includes determining a set of planar cuts each of which partitions the 3D model into at least two components, evaluating one or more objective functions for each cut in the set of planar cuts, and selecting a cut from the set of planar cuts based on the evaluations of the objective functions. In addition, the technique includes, upon determining that a component resulting from the selected cut does not fit within the predefined printing volume, further partitioning that component.
Background
BACKGROUND(1) Field(2) This disclosure presents techniques related to 3D printing. More specifically, this disclosure presents techniques to partition 3D objects into smaller components so that each component can be printed by a 3D printer having limited printing volume.(3) Description of the Related Art(4) 3D printers print three-dimensional objects and are analogous to conventional printers in that, for example, a 3D surface may be printed by applying layer after layer of a substrate until completing a desired 3D structure, much like conventional printers apply a layer of ink to paper. Various types of 3D printers have been designed, and these 3D printers use a variety of raw materials for printing.(5) One limitation of current 3D printers is printing volume, which limits the size of an object that can be printed using a given system. Objects that do not fit within the printing volume (e.g., objects that are too long or too large) either cannot be printed or need to be partitioned before being printed. One approach to printing objects that do not fit within a given printing volume is for a user to manually partition 3D models of those objects. The 3D printer then prints the components resulting from the manual partitioning. However, manual partitioning is often a laborious process which does not guarantee that resulting components can be assembled, that the partitioned components can be printed, or that the components, once printed and/or assembled, will be structurally sou
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method for recursively partitioning a three-dimensional (3D) model of an object into two or more components for printing such that each of the components fits within a predefined printing volume associated with a 3D printer, comprising: sampling, via one or more processors, a plurality of planar cuts, wherein each of the sampled planar cuts partitions the 3D model into at least two components; evaluating one or more objective functions for each of the sampled planar cuts; selecting a cut from the sampled planar cuts based on the evaluation of the one or more objective functions; in response to determining that one or more components resulting from the selected cut do not fit within the predefined printing volume, further partitioning the one or more components that do not fit within the predefined printing volume until all partitioned components fit within the predefined printing volume; and printing, using the 3D printer and at least one printing material, physical components corresponding to the partitioned components that fit within the predefined printing volume.
9. A computer-implemented method for recursively partitioning a three-dimensional (3D) model of an object into two or more components for printing such that each of the components fits within a predefined printing volume associated with a 3D printer, comprising: sampling, via one or more processors, a plurality of planar cuts, wherein each of the sampled planar cuts partitions the 3D model into at least two components; evaluating one or more objective functions for each of the sampled planar cuts, wherein one of the one or more objective functions determines an integral of penalties across a boundary of a cut being evaluated, the penalties being assessed for each point on the boundary based on one or more of ambient occlusion at the point, whether the point is at a texture edge, and user input corresponding to the point; selecting a cut from the sampled planar cuts based on the evaluation of the one or more objective functions; and in response to determining that one or more components resulting from the selected cut do not fit within the predefined printing volume, further partitioning the one or more components that do not fit within the predefined printing volume until all partitioned components fit within the predefined printing volume; and printing, using the 3D printer and at least one printing material, physical components corresponding to the partitioned components that fit within the predefined printing volume.
10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program, which, when executed by a processor performs an operation for recursively partitioning a three-dimensional (3D) model of an object into two or more components for printing such that each of the components fits within a predefined printing volume associated with a 3D printer, the operation comprising: sampling a plurality of planar cuts, wherein each of the sampled planar cuts partitions the 3D model into at least two components; evaluating one or more objective functions for each of the sampled planar cuts; selecting a cut from the sampled planar cuts based on the evaluation of the one or more objective functions; in response to determining that one or more components resulting from the selected cut do not fit within the predefined printing volume, further partitioning the one or more components that do not fit within the predefined printing volume until all partitioned components fit within the predefined printing volume; and causing, via one or more transmitted signals, the 3D printer to print, from at least one printing material, physical components corresponding to the partitioned components that fit within the predefined printing volume.
17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program, which, when executed by a processor performs an operation for recursively partitioning a three-dimensional (3D) model of an object into two or more components such that each of the components fits within a predefined printing volume associated with a 3D printer, the operation comprising: sampling a plurality of planar cuts, wherein each of the sampled planar cuts partitions the 3D model into at least two components; evaluating one or more objective functions for each of the sampled planar cuts, wherein one of the one or more objective functions determines an integral of penalties across a boundary of a cut being evaluated, the penalties being assessed for each point on the boundary based on one or more of ambient occlusion at the point, whether the point is at a texture edge, and user input corresponding to the point; selecting a cut from the sampled planar cuts based on the evaluation of the one or more objective functions; and in response to determining that one or more components resulting from the selected cut do not fit within the predefined printing volume, further partitioning the one or more components that do not fit within the predefined printing volume until all partitioned components fit within the predefined printing volume; and causing, via one or more transmitted signals, the 3D printer to print, from at least one printing material, physical components corresponding to the partitioned components that fit within the predefined printing volume.
18. A system, comprising: a processor; and a memory, wherein the memory includes an application program executable in the processor to perform an operation for recursively partitioning a three-dimensional (3D) model of an object into two or more components such that each of the components fits within a predefined printing volume associated with a 3D printer, the operation comprising: sampling a plurality of planar cuts, wherein each of the sampled planar cuts partitions the 3D model into at least two components, evaluating one or more objective functions for each of the sampled planar cuts; selecting a cut from the sampled planar cuts based on the evaluation of the objective functions, in response to determining that one or more components resulting from the selected cut do not fit within the predefined printing volume, further partitioning the one or more components that do not fit within the predefined printing volume until all partitioned components fit within the predefined printing volume, and causing, via one or more transmitted signals, the 3D printer to print, from at least one printing material, physical components corresponding to the partitioned components that fit within the predefined printing volume.