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    • 专利摘要:
    In this text, data processing devices and methods of data processing are described with respect to at least part of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object. The devices and methods relate, by way of example, to processing preliminary surface data indicative of at least one feature to be used in defining a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    公开号:BE1022695B1
    申请号:E2014/0608
    申请日:2014-08-12
    公开日:2016-07-29
    发明作者:Tom Cluckers；Kurt Renap
    申请人:Materialise N.V.；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    Data processing
    Technical scope
    The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus with regard to the processing of data, in particular data relating to at least a part of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object.
    Achtera around
    The technique of additive manufacturing, which is also called three-dimensional (3D) printing, offers the possibility of producing certain objects in a simple and inexpensive way. One of the advantages of additive manufacturing is that complex and complex structures can be produced in a simple manner. Such complex structures may, for example, contain a porous structure and / or complex surface details.
    Data representative of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object can be stored in accordance with the Stereolithography (STL) data format. The STL data format is commonly used in the additive manufacturing sector and is used to represent the surface of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object by means of a triangular grid, i.e. a plurality of triangles adjacent to each other as a mosaic
    Another data format for storing data representative of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object is the additive manufacturing (AMF) format. Similar to the STL data format, a surface of a three-dimensional object is represented by data representative of a triangular grid.
    Especially for complex and complex structures that must be produced. By means of an additive manufacturing technique, the size of the data stored by means of STL or AMF files can be significant. That is, the generation or processing of STL or AMF data files can take a lot of time. In addition, sending large STL or AMF data files may cause delays or may require more resources, for example, more bandwidth of the channel for sending the data files. In addition, hardware requirements for processing and storing large STL or AMF data files can be high and expensive.
    It is desirable to overcome at least one of these disadvantages.
    Summary
    In accordance with a first aspect, there is provided a method of processing data relating to at least a portion of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object, the method comprising: processing preliminary surface data indicative of at least one characteristic to be used in defining a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    In accordance with a second aspect, there is provided a method for processing data with respect to at least a portion of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object, the method comprising: receiving preliminary data on the surface, indicative for at least one feature to be used in defining a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object; processing said preliminary data wherein disc data is generated with respect to at least one disc of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object; and sending said disk data to the additive manufacturing device for the purpose of instructing the additive manufacturing device to produce said at least portion of the three-dimensional object by means of an additive manufacturing technique.
    In accordance with a third aspect, there is provided a method for generating data relating to at least a portion of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object, the method comprising: processing surface data representative of a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object, preliminary surface data being generated indicative of at least one feature to be used in defining a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    In accordance with a fourth aspect, there is provided a device for processing data relating to at least a portion of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object, the device comprising: at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program instructions, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program instructions are configured for, with the at least one processor, leading the device to perform a method for processing data relating to at least a portion of a a three-dimensional object for additive manufacturing, the method comprising: processing preliminary data indicative of at least one characteristic to be used in defining a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    In accordance with a fifth aspect, there is provided a device for processing data relating to at least a portion of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object, the device comprising: at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program instructions, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program instructions are configured for the purpose of, with the at least one processor, leading the device to perform a method of generating data relating to at least a portion of a a three-dimensional object for additive manufacturing, the method comprising: processing preliminary data indicative of at least one characteristic to be used in defining a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    In accordance with a sixth aspect, there is provided a device for processing data with respect to at least a portion of one. three-dimensional object for additive manufacturing, the device comprising: at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program instructions, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program instructions are configured for the purpose of at least one processor, leading the device to perform a method for processing data with respect to at least a portion of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object, the method comprising: receiving preliminary surface data, indicative for at least one feature to be used in defining a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object, processing said preliminary data generating disk data with respect to at least one disk of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object; and sending said disk data to the additive manufacturing device for the purpose of instructing the additive manufacturing device to produce said at least portion of the three-dimensional object by means of an additive manufacturing technique.
    In accordance with a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising a permanently computer-readable storage medium on which computer-readable instructions are stored, wherein the computer-readable instructions may be executed by a computerized device to lead the computerized device to the performing a method for processing data relating to at least a portion of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object, the method comprising: processing preliminary data indicative of at least one characteristic to be used in defining a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    In accordance with an eighth aspect, computer software is provided for processing data relating to at least a portion of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object, the computer software being adapted to process preliminary surface data indicative of at least one characteristic to be used in defining a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    In accordance with a ninth aspect, there is provided a storage medium containing a data structure containing preliminary data about the surface, indicative of at least one characteristic to be used in defining a surface of at least a portion of a three-dimensional additive printing object, wherein the preliminary surface data can be processed to be used in defining a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    Other features are clarified on the basis of the following description of examples which are for illustrative purposes only and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
    Brief description of the drawings
    Figure 1 schematically illustrates an example of a data processing device.
    Figure 2 schematically illustrates an example of a computer.
    Figure 3 schematically illustrates an example of a method for processing data.
    Figure 4 schematically illustrates an example of a build processor.
    Figure 5 illustrates schematically an example of a wire model.
    FIG. 6, 7 schematically illustrate an example of the processing of the wire model from figure 5.
    Figure 8 schematically illustrates an example of a three-dimensional object to be printed.
    Figure 9 schematically illustrates an example of a plurality of discs.
    Detailed description
    The examples described in this text relate to additive management, a method that can also be called 3D printing. First, examples of techniques and devices for additive manufacturing are described. Next, a description is given of the processing of data regarding additive manufacturing, with reference to examples of devices configured for such processing. It should be noted that such examples are intended to be non-exhaustive and that other examples of additive manufacturing, data processing and device techniques may be used in accordance with aspects defined by the appended claims.
    A classic feature of additive manufacturing techniques is the layer-by-layer creation of a three-dimensional object. In this way an object can be printed by printing a series of successive layers, the next layer in the series being printed on the previous printed layer. Each layer corresponds to a two-dimensional sectional disk of the object to be printed. A thickness of the material to be printed for each layer is determined on the basis of a number of factors including, for example, the material being printed, a possible technique for curing each layer before the next layer can be printed, and the geometry and complexity of the object being printed.
    Now examples of some known techniques and devices for additive manufacturing are given. The terms "additive manufacturing" and "3D printing" are used interchangeably. .....
    Stereolithography ("SLA"), for example, uses a tub with a photopolymer compound, e.g., a resin, for layer-by-layer printing of an object. In one example, a layer of liquid resin is first deposited on an area where an object is to be printed. For example, a first layer of resin can be deposited on a base plate of an additive manufacturing device. An electromagnetic beam then scans a specific pattern on the surface of the liquid resin. The electromagnetic beam can be delivered in the form of one or more laser beams that are controlled by the computer. The exposure of the resin to the electromagnetic beam hardens the resin in accordance with the pattern followed by the
    fr> f V electromagnetic beam and, if the layer being printed is not the first layer, the exposure causes the exposed resin to adhere to a previously printed layer underneath. The specific pattern corresponds to the parts of the layer of the object being printed that are to be formed by the liquid resin. Once a layer of resin has been applied and cured, the first layer is printed. The base plate can then be lowered in accordance with the thickness of a single printed layer and a subsequent layer of liquid resin deposited. To print the next layer, a specific pattern is followed by the electromagnetic beam on the previously printed layer of resin and the newly followed layer attaches itself to the previously printed layer by curing. By repeating this process, a full three-dimensional object can be formed layer by layer. After termination, the cured three-dimensional object can be removed from the SLA system and further processed by a post-processing technique. Such post-processing may consist of techniques for cleaning, with a view, for example, to removing chemicals from the product. Examples of SLA devices are produced by 3D Systems, 333 Three D Systems Circle, Rock Hill, SC 29730 USA, with model names SLA 250, SLA 3500, SLA 7000, Projet 360, 460, 660, 860, Projet 510, 3500, 5000 , 6000, 7000, iPro 8000 or iPro 9000. Selective laser sintering ("SLS") is another additive manufacturing technique that uses a high power laser or other concentrated energy source to fuse small fusible particles of the hardenable material. In a number of examples, selective laser, sintering can also be called "selective laser melting". In a number of examples, the high power laser may be a carbon dioxide laser for use in the processing of, for example, polymer powder coated material. In a number of examples, the high power laser may be a fiber laser for use in the processing of, for example, metal powder coated material. Other types of high power lasers can be used based on the specific application. The particles can be fused by sintering or welding the particles together using the high power laser. The small fusible particles of the curable material can be made of plastic powders, polymer powders, metal (direct metal laser sintering powders, or ceramic powders (e.g. glass powders, etc.). The fusion of these particles yields an object that has a desired three-dimensional shape 1. For example, a first layer of powder material can be deposited on a base plate on which an object is to be printed A laser can be used to selectively fuse the first layer of powder material by scanning the powder material for the purpose of creating and forming of a first cross-sectional layer of the three-dimensional object After each layer has been scanned and each cross-sectional layer of the three-dimensional object has been formed, the base plate can be lowered by one layer of thickness, a new layer of powder material can be deposited on top of the previous layer, and the process can be deposited of scanning a cross-section with the laser can be repeated d, layer after layer, until all layers have been printed and the object has been generated. To complete the object, it may be necessary to remove excess powder that has not been scanned with the laser around the printed object. Examples of SLS devices are produced by 3D Systems, with model names Sinterstation Vanguard, Sinterstation HiQ, sPro 140, sPro 230, sPro 60, and other examples of SLS devices are produced by EOS GmbH, Robert-Stirling-Ring 1, D- 82152 Krailling (Germany) with model names EOS P100 Formiga, EOS P300, P360, P380, P395, P70 or P760.
    The materials used for printing an object by means of SLA or SLS can contain, but are not limited to: polyurethane, polyamide, polyamide with additives such as glass or metal particles, resorbable materials such as polymer-ceramic composites, etc. Examples of in the commercially available materials include: DSM Somos® series of materials 7-100, 8100, 9100, 9420, 10100, 11100, 12110, 14120 and 15100 from DSM Somos, Het Overloon 1, 6411 TE Heerlen (the Netherlands); the line materials Accura Plastic, DuraForm, CastForm, Laserform and VisiJet from 3D-Systems; aluminum, cobalt chrome and stainless steel materials; maraging steel; nickel alloy; titanium; the PA materials line, PrimeCast and PrimePart materials and Alumide and CarbonMide from EOS GmbH.
    In fused deposition modeling (FDM), another technique of 3D printing, a spout of molten material sprays to print an object layer after layer. The molten material can be provided by melting a solid plastic filament that is continuously led to the spout when the molten material is sprayed. By way of example, the first layer of an object to be printed can be sprayed onto a base plate of a fused deposition device, in accordance with a pattern in accordance with the cross-section of the layer of the object to be printed. The position of the base plate and / or the spout can be checked in such a way that the molten material is sprayed in accordance with the desired pattern. The printed material can be cured immediately after spraying by means of cooling. For printing the next layer of the object, the base plate can be lowered by the thickness of one printed layer and / or the spray nozzle can be repositioned to print the next layer in accordance with the desired pattern. This layer after layer pressing continues until the object is completed. Examples of FDM devices are produced by Stratasys, 7665 Commerce Way, Eden Prairie, MN 55344, USA, with model names Titan, Vantage, Fortus 400mc, Fortus 250mc or Fortus 900mc.
    Another example of an additive manufacturing technique is the so-called polyjet printing. In this technique, a plurality of spouts selectively spray a photopolymer to print an object layer after layer. After spraying each layer of the photopolymer, the photopolymer can be cured using, for example, UV light before the next layer of the object is printed. Examples of polyjet devices are produced by Stratasys, with model names Objet 24, 30, Object Eden 260V, 350V or 500V, Objet 260 Connex, Objet 350 Connex, Objet 500 Connex or Objet 100. A device for printing a three-dimensional object can be controlled by means of a computer device. In the following, an illustrative overview is described of the processing of data relating to a three-dimensional object to be printed, while also providing an explanation of a suitably configured device for this processing.
    Data representative of an additive manufacturing object can be stored using the Stereolithography (STL) data format, the additive manufacturing (AMF) data format, or, in accordance with examples described below, using a data format containing preliminary data about the surface (surface precursor data, SPD), a data format used in this text. the SPD data format is also mentioned.
    An object to be produced by an additive manufacturing technique can be designed using a computer aided design (CAD) or computer aided manufacturing (CAM) technique, using appropriate computer software running on a computer, such as in the profession known.
    Once the three-dimensional object has been designed and is ready for additive manufacturing, representative data is generated for the three-dimensional object. The data representative of the three-dimensional object is referred to in this text as object data and can be generated in accordance with, for example, the STL, AMF or SPD data format by converting the data into a data format used by the CAD or CAM computer software in the STL, AMF or SPD data format.
    For the production of the object by means of an additive manufacturing technique, the STL, AMF or SPD data are processed with a view to generating data indicative of the object to be produced, in some examples with including data defining a surface of the object to be printed and referred to as surface data in this text. This process is accompanied by the interpretation of the STL, AMF or SPD data indicative of the object to be produced, in a format suitable for a specific additive manufacturing device. For example, different manufacturers of additive manufacturing devices may use different signaling protocols to instruct the printer on how to operate. The processing of the STL, AMF or SPD data can be performed using data and instructions stored as an element of a computer software module that is referred to as a "build processor" in this text, although in other examples it is possible that functions of the build processor can be provided by other data implementations. The build processor can be configured for processing data relating to a three-dimensional object to be printed, to interpret data that can be interpreted by a three-dimensional printing device to print a three-dimensional object. In other words, the build processor can process the object data for the purpose of determining, i.e., building, the shape of an object to be printed. The object data can contain preliminary data about the surface and can be received via a network. The build processor can process data representative of a three-dimensional object to be printed, for example preliminary surface data or surface data described in the following, for the purpose of generating data indicative of each disc that must be printed by a three-dimensional printing device. The build processor can then use this data that is indicative of each disk to instruct the three-dimensional printing device to print the object layer after layer. An operator can interact with the data representative of a three-dimensional object and control its processing, using a computer software module referred to in this text as a pressure control module (not in the drawing).
    In the following, an example is described of a device for manipulating data with regard to the three-dimensional printing of an object.
    Figure 1 schematically illustrates one example of a device 100 configured for processing data relating to the design and production of a three-dimensional object by three-dimensional printing. The device 100 may include one or more computers 102a-102d. The computers 102a-102d can take various forms, such as, for example, any workstation, any server or any other computer device that can process data. The computers 102a-102d can be connected through a computer network 105. The computer network 105 can be the internet or a LAN (local area network), a WAN (wide area network), or any other type of network. The computers can communicate with each other over the computer network 105 by any suitable communication technology or any suitable communication protocol. The computers 102a-102d can exchange data via the computer network 105 by sending and receiving data, for example with regard to computer software, data about a three-dimensional object, data concerning commands and / or instructions for a device for additive manufacturing.
    The system 100 may further comprise one or more devices for additive manufacturing 106a and 106b. These additive manufacturing devices can each be a three-dimensional printer as known in the art, for example an SLA, SLS, FDM or polyjet device for three-dimensional printing as described above. In the example as illustrated in Figure 1, one of the devices for additive manufacturing 106a is connected to one of the computers 102d. To this end, the additive manufacturing device 106a is connected to the computers 102a-102c by means of the network 105 which connects the computers 102a-102d to each other. The additive manufacturing device 106b is also connected to the computers 102a-102d via the direct connection to the network 105. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that an additive manufacturing device can be directly connected to a computer 102 via an input / output interface, for example a USB (universal serial bus) connection, or can be connected to the network 105 via, for example, a network interface card that forms part of the additive manufacturing device.
    Although a specific computer and network configuration is described in Figure 1, those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the techniques of additive manufacturing described in this text may be implemented using a single computer configuration that incorporates the additive manufacturing device 106 checks and / or supports, without the need for a computer network.
    Furthermore, it is stated that data representative of three-dimensional object to be printed can be generated and / or processed using one computer 102a-d and then transmitted via the network 105 to another computer 102a-d for processing, e.g. using build processor data, for the purpose of generating instructions to monitor the operation of the additive manufacturing device to print a three-dimensional object. . Figure 2 schematically illustrates an example of one of the computers 102a-d of Figure 1, in particular the computer designated as 102a. The computer 102a contains a processor 210. The processor 210 is in data communication with various computer components. These components may include a memory 220 as well as an input device 230 and an output device 240. In some examples, the processor may also communicate with a network interface card 260 for data communication with the network 105. Although described as a separate component, it is clear that the functional blocks described with respect to computer 102a should not be different structural elements. For example, the processor 210 and the network interface card 260 may be included in a single chip or a single board.
    The processor 210 may be a universal processor or a digital signal processor (digital signal processor, DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (application-specific integrated circuit, ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (field programmable gate array, FPGA) or another programmable logic unit, a separate port or transistor, separate hardware components, or any combination thereof, to perform the functions described in this text. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computer equipment, for example a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. The processor 210 can be coupled, via one or more buses, to read information from, or write to, the memory 220. The processor can additionally, or as another possibility, contain memory, e.g. processor registers. The memory 220 may contain processor cache, including a multi-level hierarchical cache in which different levels exhibit different options and different access speeds. This memory 220 may further comprise a random access memory (RAM), as well as other devices with a volatile memory or devices with a non-volatile memory. The memory may include media for data storage such as, for example, a hard disk, an optical disk such as a compact .dise (cd) or a digital video disk (dvd), flash memory, a floppy disk, a magnetic tape, a fixed memory and The drives can be a storage medium with a data structure containing preliminary data on the surface in accordance with examples described in this text and / or data that can be executed for the purpose of providing a method of data processing in accordance with a The memory may be a permanently computer-readable storage medium on which computer-readable instructions are stored which, when executed, cause a computer device to perform a data processing method in accordance with a method described in this text example.
    The processor 210 can also be coupled to an input device 230 and an output device 240 for resp. get input from, and deliver output to, a user of computer 102a. Suitable input devices include, but are not limited to, a keyboard, a rollerball, buttons, keys, switches, pointing devices, a mouse, a joystick, a remote control device, an infrared detector, a voice recognition system, a barcode reader, a scanner, a video camera ( possibly coupled to image processing software to detect, for example, hand or face movements), a motion detector, a microphone (possibly coupled to sound processing software to detect, for example, voice commands), or any other device capable of transmitting data from a user to a computer. The input device may also take the form of one with the display. associated touch screen, where in this case a user responds to information shown on the display by touching the screen.
    The user can enter information in the form of text by means of an input device such as a keyboard or the touchscreen. Suitable output devices include, but are not limited to, visual output devices, including screens and printers, audio output devices, including speakers, headphones, earphones and alarms, haptic output devices, and an additive manufacturing device.
    The processor 210 may further be coupled to a network interface card 260. The network interface card 260 is configured for preparing data which, generated by the processor 210 for transmission over a network in accordance with one or several; ::; data transmission protocols, for example the Ethernet protocol. The network interface card 260 can also be configured for decoding data received by the network. In a number of examples, the network interface card 260 may include a transmitter, a receiver, or both a transmitter and a receiver. Based on the specific example, the transmitter and receiver may consist of a single integrated component or may be two separate components. The network interface card 260 can be in the form of a universal processor or a digital signal processor (digital signal processor, DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (application-specific integrated circuit, ASIC), a field-programmable gate array ( field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic unit, a separate port or transistor, separate hardware components, or any combination thereof to perform the functions described in this text.
    The computer can be, for example, a desktop or laptop computer device. In other examples, the computer may be a portable computer device such as a tablet or a portable telephone, a so-called smartphone, for example. Such a tablet or portable telephone may exhibit features of the computer described above with reference to Figure 2. In a number of examples, the network interface card may be configured with a view to acting as an interface with a mobile telecommunications network.
    An additive manufacturing device may include, for example, components of the computer described above with reference to Figure 2, for example, a memory, which may contain data for providing the build processor functionality, such that the additive device For example, manufacturing can receive and process data from the computer for checking and instructing the additive manufacturing device to print an object. In other examples, the build processor functionality can be delivered in a hardware implementation, for example in the form of a microchip.
    Consistent: - with examples described in what follows, and with reference to Figure 3, there is provided a method for processing data relating to at least a portion of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object, the method comprising: processing (S2) preliminary surface data indicative of at least one feature to be used in defining a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    In a number of examples, the method comprises generating, based on said processing, disk data S6 with respect to at least one disk of the three-dimensional object for additive manufacturing of the three-dimensional object.
    In other examples, the method further comprises an intermediate step of generating S4, based on said processing, of surface data representative of a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object. That surface data is then processed to generate the disk data S6.
    Preliminary surface data is indicative of at least one feature to be used in defining a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object. In particular, the surface to be defined has a surface zone, i.e. a zone of the surface, and a three-dimensional spatial. configuration. It should be noted that a line defining a contour of the surface of an object in this text is not considered to define a surface of the object, since it does not define a surface with a surface zone.
    Examples of the at least one feature are further described in what follows. Surface preliminary data is data that defines at least one precursor to be used in defining the surface and that does not directly define a configuration of a surface or part or all of a three-dimensional object, but data on the basis of which a configuration of a surface of a part or the whole of a three-dimensional object can be calculated. The preliminary surface data can therefore be considered as indirectly defining a configuration of a surface of at least one duck of the object to be printed.
    The use of preliminary surface data allows the size of data files representative of a three-dimensional printing object to be considerably reduced compared to other data formats such as STL or AMF. This reduced size of the data files means that data files representative of an object for three-dimensional printing can be transmitted faster and more efficiently over a data communication network. Furthermore, the hardware requirements of a computer and the requirements for the network such as the available bandwidth can be reduced favorably. Moreover, the processing of the data file, for example using the build processor, with a view to generating data such as disk data for instructing printing by an additive manufacturing device, can be faster and more efficient than with known formats such as for example the STL and AMF formats.
    In addition, for complex structures that are part of an object to be printed three-dimensionally, for example, porous structures, mesh structures, lattice structures, and structures with complex surface details, the use of preliminary surface data makes a reduced surface area. data file size possible in comparison with known data formats such as, for example, the STL and AMF formats. For particularly complex structures, the use of the STL and AMF data formats is indeed impractical, since the files are too large to be sent and / or processed in a practical manner.
    In known data formats such as STL and AMF, the configuration of a surface of an object to be produced by an additive manufacturing technique is directly represented by data representative of a triangular lattice, i.e., a plurality of adjacent mosaic tiles triangles. Note that the surface of an object is a surface zone that defines a surface of any part of the object. The ... surface can thus define external surfaces of an object as well as internal surfaces of an object that, for example, define a cavity or a porous structure within the object. To define more complex surfaces, for example the surface of a porous structure, smaller triangles are used in known methods to provide the increased granularity needed to describe the complex surface. If the triangles are smaller, more triangles are needed. In known data formats such as STL and AMF, each triangle of the triangular grid is encoded by coordinate data for each of the three corners of the triangle. Therefore, for a large number of small triangles describing a complex surface, the size of the data file can never become impractical.
    In contrast, as will become clear from the following examples, the use of preliminary surface data allows the surface of a complex object to be accurately defined with a significantly reduced data file size.
    In examples, the preliminary surface data is indicative of one or more of a one-dimensional feature and / or a two-dimensional feature to define the three-dimensional shape of the surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object, without the preliminary data about the surface directly provide an indication of the three-dimensional shape of the surface. The size of the data required to represent such a one-dimensional feature and / or., Two-dimensional feature is significantly smaller than to represent a surface of a three-dimensional object using a triangular grid, particularly when the surface complex and complicated. In view of the need for three-dimensional printing to accurately define the surface of an object to be printed, it may at first sight seem illogical to use data that does not directly define the surface of a three-dimensional object. represent surface configuration. It is true that known methods using data defining a triangular grid lead to accurately printed three-dimensional objects. In the examples described in this text, however, it has been found that preliminary data about the surface, even though they do not represent a management representation of an object to be printed, are nevertheless suitable for generating a sufficiently accurate configuration of the surface of an object that must be printed. In addition: such preliminary surface data are suitable for accurately printing complex and intricately structured objects and their file size is significantly smaller when compared to triangular grid data.
    Preliminary surface data is indicative of at least one feature to be used in defining a surface of a part of the three-dimensional object or of the entire surface.
    In examples, the at least one feature for defining a surface includes at least one longitudinal axis of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object. The at least one characteristic for defining a surface can include a framework of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object. The attribute can contain a wire model of the framework. The framework can be defined on the basis of a graph of at least one pair of vertices, linked to an edge that defines part of the framework. The use of a graph representing a framework of the object has the advantage that an edge of the graph can easily be divided into disks, at any point along the edge. For example, disk data can be generated using simple algorithms that do not need to work on more complex data that represents two-dimensional or three-dimensional shapes. The at least one feature may include a thickness or a diameter with respect to a portion of the framework and thus define the extent of a portion of the surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    An example of preliminary surface data and its processing for generating data to define a surface of a three-dimensional object to be printed will be described below with reference to Figs. 4 to 7.
    Fig. 4 schematically illustrates an example of the said build processor 400. Computer software, that is to say on a computer implementable instructions which provide for the functionality of the build processor, is stored in, for example, the memory, e.g. disk, of the computer such as one of the computers 102a-d described above. The processing of data and instructions from the build processor by the processor of the computer provides the functions of the build processor described in this text.
    As illustrated in Figure 4, the build processor in this example contains the following sub-modules: data about mounting the object 402, data defining the surface 404, data specifying the three-dimensional printer 406, and data about dividing the object into disks 408. In other examples, the build processor may contain fewer of these submodules.
    In the present example, with reference to Figure 5, the preliminary surface data is indicative of a conical wire model with a circular base 502 with a plurality of longitudinal axes 504 defining radial spokes of the circular base, and a plurality of longitudinal axes 506 connecting an outer end of each of the radial axes to the top 508 of the cone. The preliminary surface data is indicative of the longitudinal axes 504, 506. The preliminary surface data of this example contains data indicative of at least one pair of vertices coupled to an edge, each of the edges being one of the defines longitudinal axes 504, 506. The preliminary surface data also contains data indicative of the positional relationship of one edge with respect to at least one of the remaining edges in the three-dimensional space. The graph data can be three-dimensional spatial coordinates for each vertex of a pair of vertexes that define an edge. The wire model 500 represents a framework of the object to be printed.
    An example of data processing with respect to at least a portion of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object is described in what follows. This method relates to the method described above with reference to Figure 3 but is described here with more details.
    In the first place, object data can be obtained, for example via the internet. Object data contains data related to the three-dimensional object to be printed. The object data described in the imdeze.text contains preliminary information about surface. In the present example, the preliminary surface data is representative of a wire model of a framework of an object to be printed, in this example in accordance with the wire model as illustrated in Figure 5. The object data can be received over a data network of a computer other than the computer loaded with the build processor, and may, for example, be a three-dimensional print file downloaded from the internet of data representing an object to be created by three-dimensional printing. Alternatively, the object data may be generated using object design software that is loaded on the same computer as the computer loaded with the build processor.
    The received object data is processed for the purpose of generating surface data representative of a surface of at least a portion of the object to be created by three-dimensional printing. The preliminary data about the surface can be representative of a characteristic such as a thickness or diameter, with respect to a part of the framework and thus define the size of a part of the surface of at least the part of the three-dimensional object. An example is illustrated in Figure 6 where for each longitudinal axis 506 connected to the apex 508 the preliminary surface information is indicative of a diameter 600 of a circular cross-section, of a cylindrical longitudinal portion of the object at one or more locations, at the longitudinal axis. The diameter corresponds to a surface contour of the object. The section is made perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 506. In this example, the diameter is indicated by the preliminary surface data for a plurality of locations along a longitudinal axis, thereby defining a portion of the surface of the cylindrical longitudinal portion at each location. Each diameter can be different or equal to a standard diameter. Any location where the diameter is indicated can correspond to a disk-forming plane (as described in more detail in the following) or at coordinates specified by the preliminary surface data along the longitudinal axis. The surface of the cylindrical longitudinal portion can be determined along the longitudinal axis by interpolation between the diameters at any location along the longitudinal axis. "
    For each radial axis, the preliminary surface data is indicative of a thickness of a radial portion of the circular base, the thickness being taken in the plane of the circular base. This thickness can be specified by data indicating a thickness at specified locations along each radial axis. The depth of each radial portion can also be indicated by the preliminary surface data.
    In examples, processing the preliminary surface data includes interpreting the preliminary surface data and receiving data defining the surface in accordance with the interpretation of a code of the preliminary surface data to be used in generating the surface data. The data about the mounting of the object 402 can be used in this processing, the data about the mounting of the object 402 including, for example, data indicative of an algorithm for processing the object data, including the preliminary data about the object surface, and mounting information representative of the object to be printed, and the surface data being generated. In the present example, the preliminary surface data as described relates to a diameter of cylindrical longitudinal portions. Rather than preliminary surface data defining the diameter line, for example using spatial coordinate data, preliminary surface data may instead indicate a predetermined shape with a predetermined size around the cross-section define at a given location on the longitudinal axis. The preliminary surface data may, for example, indicate a code indicative of a circular shape with a given diameter. Data indicative of available predetermined shapes and sizes can be stored in a data file, for example, as data defining the surface 404 in the build processor. In this way, in the course of processing and thereby interpreting the preliminary surface data, the data defining the surface 404 can be retrieved in accordance with the interpretation of the preliminary surface data. Data defining the area corresponding, by way of example, to the predetermined shape and size of: dee ~ -. circular cross-section, can be selected in response to the query using the code and can be received, for example, by the processor 210, for the purpose of defining the portion of the surface of the cylindrical portion at a given location .
    In accordance with the example described with reference to Figs. 5 and 6, Fig. 7 schematically illustrates, by means of each illustrated circle, the surface contour of the object 700 at a plurality of locations along the longitudinal axes once processing of the preliminary surface data. In this example, each location coincides with a disk plane SP, as described in what follows. To this end, surface data is generated which indicates the configuration of the surface of the object at at least a number of locations of the object, or for the entire surface of the object to be printed, for example as a result of the interpolation of the configuration of the surface between the surface contours defined at each location. Figure 8 illustrates the surface of the object 800 represented by the surface data for the example described with reference to Figures 5, 6 and 7.
    Disk data is generated for the purpose of printing an object. As described above, a three-dimensional printer prints the layers of the object one by one. Therefore, the three-dimensional printer must receive instructions through data indicative of the shape of each layer to be printed. The disk data corresponds to at least one layer of the object, as described in the following. The disk data is used to instruct the three-dimensional printer to print at least one layer of the object, each disk corresponding to a layer of the object to be printed. In examples, the disk data is generated by processing surface data representative of at least a portion of the three-dimensional object to be printed. The surface data may include, for example, data indicative of the surface at the plurality of locations along longitudinal axes as described above. Or, in other examples, any data representing the surface configuration can be used to generate disk data. In still other examples, the preliminary surface data can be processed to generate disk data without the intermediate step of generating surface data; in such examples, processing the preliminary surface data may use the surface defining data to determine a surface contour for a two-dimensional disk when generating a disk for the object to be printed; in one such example, a longitudinal axis can be divided into disks at a location in accordance with a disk-forming plane SP, and the data defining the surface are retrieved for the purpose of determining a circular cross-section of the part of the object on the disk-forming surface. When the disk data is generated, they can be sent to a three-dimensional printer to instruct the three-dimensional printer to print the object.
    Disk formation can be performed using the build processor. By way of example, data representative of an object to be printed can be divided into disks on a plurality of regularly spaced disk surfaces. Disk data representative of one disk represents a two-dimensional flat disk indicative of a portion and shape of the surface of the object at a given location, i.e., on a disk surface. The three-dimensional printer is configured for interpreting the two-dimensional disk data to print at least one layer of print material corresponding to at least one disk to print the object.
    In the disc forming process, data specifying the three-dimensional printer 406 can be used for printing the object. For example, the data specifying the three-dimensional printer may indicate the standard thickness of a layer of material being printed as well as the type of material for which the three-dimensional printer is configured to print. Using this data specifying the three-dimensional printer 406, the surface data representative of the surface of the object to be printed can be processed for the purpose of dividing the object for printing accordingly into disks to ensure that the disk data is compatible with the three-dimensional printer so that the object can be printed accurately. In this disc formation process, disc dividing object 408 data may be used, disc dividing data includes data indicative of, for example, an algorithm for processing the surface data in accordance with with the data specifying the three-dimensional printer 406 for the purpose of generating disk data.
    Referring to Figure 7, a plurality of disc planes SP is illustrated, by way of example, each of which in this example corresponds to one of the locations along the length of the longitudinal axes. Each line shown in Figure 7 illustrates a contour line on a surface of the object to be printed on a plurality of disc planes spaced at regular intervals.
    In generating disk data, first full area data can be generated from the preliminary surface data, for the purpose of defining the area data for the entire surface of the object to be printed, before the disk data is generated. As another possibility, the preliminary surface data can be processed for the purpose of generating the surface data per disc, which is then processed to generate disc data for one disc at a time. Or, as described above, disk data can be generated from preliminary surface data without first generating surface data.
    Other examples of features for which the preliminary surface information is indicative are described in the following.
    In one example, the at least one feature includes a label for labeling at least the portion of the three-dimensional object. The preliminary surface data may include data indicative of label indicia, for example alphanumeric characters, and possibly also the font and size thereof to be provided on a surface of an object to be printed. That is, a label can be provided on an object to be printed. When the preliminary surface data is processed to generate surface data and then disk data, the surface at a given location of the object, for example a disk surface, is defined in accordance with the surface contours required to provide the alphanumeric characters that are indicated by the preliminary surface data. The data defining the build processor surface 404 may include data indicative of the surface contours required to provide a specified alphanumeric character of a specific font as well as the size thereof. That is, the preliminary surface data is indicative of surface contours of the object to be printed with respect to a surface surrounding the object's label, the contours of which are representative of label indicia of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object. In this way, the surface data for the object can be generated to represent surface contours that are representative of a label. By using the preliminary surface data to indicate a label, an object can be easily printed with a label such as a reference number of a part or a serial number. This is more efficient and leads to a reduced size of the data file compared to the use of, for example, a triangular grid to describe an alphanumeric label.
    In other examples, the at least one feature comprises a material and / or color of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object. For example, the attribute may define a material type to be used for at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    A material and / or color of at least the part of the three-dimensional object can also differ from the material and / or the color of at least another part of the three-dimensional object. In some such examples, the preliminary surface data may include data indicative of a material and / or color for any number of different parts of the three-dimensional object.
    In another example, the at least one feature includes a surface texture for the surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object, the preliminary surface data being: ·· indicative of surface contours with respect to a surface surrounding the surface texture , representative of the surface texture of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object. For example, when the surface texture is a regularly repeating texture, the preliminary surface data may include data indicative of a code corresponding to a predetermined surface texture and coordinate data indicative of the locations of the object to be printed where the surface texture is to be applied. The data defining the surface 404 may include data indicative of a plurality of surface textures that can be applied to the surface of an object to be printed. To that end, when the preliminary surface data is processed, the code can be interpreted and the corresponding surface texture can be identified based on the data defining the surface 404. The surface data about the object to be printed can therefore be generated for the purpose of defining a desired surface texture at a specified location on the object.
    In other examples, rather than the preliminary surface information being indicative of a predetermined surface texture, the preliminary surface information may include data indicative of its own specific surface texture. The preliminary surface data may include data indicative of at least one contour corresponding to the one or more two-dimensional disks of an object; the surface contour data can define its own specific surface texture at a given location of the object. More details about the preliminary surface data that include disk data are described in what follows.
    In other examples where the at least one feature contains a surface texture for the surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object, the preliminary data about the surface may contain image data, for example in the form of a bitmap (BMP) data format , a graphical interchang. format, (GIF) data format, or a joint photographic experts group (JPEG) data format. The image data may be indicative of surface contours with respect to a surface surrounding the surface texture indicated by the image data representing the surface texture. In this way, the image data may represent, for example, a texture to be applied to the surface of at least a portion of the object to be printed. The image data can be applied to a zone of the surface of the part of the object to be printed. The data defining the surface 404 may include data for processing such graphic image data and generating surface data in accordance with the surface texture indicated by the graphic image data. Thus, by way of example, the data defining the surface may indicate that for a certain brightness or intensity level in the image data, at a certain location of the object, the surface of the object must be increased or decreased to a certain extent relative to the position of the surface surrounding that location on the object, i.e. a reference surface. In this way, the surface of a portion of the object can be accurately defined to provide a surface texture indicated by the image data.
    In other examples, the at least one feature includes at least one two-dimensional disk of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object. The two-dimensional disk can define a contour in accordance with the configuration of the surface of the object on one disk surface. By way of example, its own specific surface texture for one disc can be defined by the surface contour of the two-dimensional disc.
    In some examples, the at least one two-dimensional disk includes a stack of a plurality of two-dimensional disks from at least the portion of the three-dimensional object. The preliminary surface data representative of the two-dimensional disks can be processed to generate disk data, optionally via the intermediate step of generating surface data that is then divided into disks. An example is illustrated, by way of example in Figure 9, which schematically illustrates a stack 900 of a plurality of two-dimensional disks 902. In this example, each disk 902 is spaced a regular distance from an adjacent disk in the stack. . The distance may correspond to a thickness of the material printed for each layer by the three-dimensional printer. Thus, any processing of the preliminary surface data to generate disk data can be minimal. As described above, a surface texture of the object at a given location can be defined by a surface contour of data representative of a two-dimensional disk. This is illustrated in Figure 9 by surface contours 904 of a plurality of disks 902 that together after being pressed define a surface contour of the surface of the object to be printed.
    When generating surface data for the object to be printed, processing the preliminary surface data may include, for example, defining a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object between a surface contour of a first disk of the stack and a surface contour of a second disc of the stack. In this way the surface of the object between the discs in the stack can be defined. In other examples, each disc may be directly in correspondence with a layer to be printed by the three-dimensional printer, for example where each disc in the stack is kept at a distance in accordance with a thickness of the material for printing each layer through the three-dimensional printer, without any further processing being required for preparation in a data format required for the three-dimensional printer.
    Including disk data in the object data is an efficient way to store data for defining a surface of an object to be printed. Complex surface textures can be defined on a two-dimensional disk basis, without requiring data that represents a complex triangular lattice and that would exhibit a large data file. In addition, if the preliminary surface data is consistent with disk data for instructing a three-dimensional printer, providing disk data to instruct the three-dimensional printer can be performed more efficiently, and also quickly, since it is not required to first process a to generate disk data. ______
    In other examples, the preliminary surface data can be provided for a portion of a three-dimensional object to be printed. This part can correspond to a volume unit of the object that is repeated elsewhere in the object. The volume unit may be, for example, a grid or mesh structure, or, for example, the cylindrical portion referred to above with reference to Figures 5 to 7. The preliminary surface data may be indicative of at least one characteristic for the define a surface area of the volume unit. The object data may further comprise data, for example data about coordinates indicative of locations in the object where the volume unit is repeated. Thus, it is not necessary for the object data to contain preliminary surface data that is indicative of the surface of each volume unit being repeated, but instead such preliminary surface data must be provided only once. This leads to a significantly reduced data volume of the object data for defining the surface of the entire object.
    Object data may include data on a triangular grid that is representative of a surface of a portion of the three-dimensional object, in addition to the object data that contains preliminary data about the surface. In this way, existing data representing a triangular grid with respect to a surface of at least a portion of an object to be printed can be reused when new object data is generated.
    Or, if a triangular grid would prove better suited to represent a surface of a part of the object to be printed, data on a triangular grid can be provided to supplement the preliminary data about the surface for a part of the object which is more appropriately represented by preliminary surface data.
    The previous examples are to be understood as being illustrative. Other examples are possible. By way of example, the object data may contain additional parameters for the object to be printed, for example a material and / or a color for at least a ..... part of the object. In some examples, the object data may contain different parameters for different parts of the object to be printed, for example, a material and / or a color for at least a part of the object may differ from the material and / or the color for a other part of the object. In a number of examples, the object data may contain different such parameters for any number of different parts of the object.
    Although one example of processing data related to printing an object has been described above with reference to Figures 5 to 8, it should be understood that many other examples of objects are possible to be printed using the examples of methods of data processing and devices as described in this text. By way of example, any object that can be drawn with a closed polyline can be printed by the methods described in this text.
    It should be understood that any feature with respect to any example may be used alone or in combination with other described features, and may also be used in combination with one or more features of any other example , or any combination of any other example. In addition, equivalents and adjustments that have not been described above can also be implemented without departing from the scope of the appended claims. in the drawings:
    FIG. 1
    FIG. 2
    FIG. 3
    FIG. 4
    权利要求:
    Claims (31)
    [1]
    CONCLUSIONS
    A method of processing data relating to at least a part of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object, the method comprising: - processing of preliminary data indicative of at least one characteristic to be used in defining a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    [2]
    A method according to claim 1, comprising generating, based on said processing, disk data relating to at least one disk of the three-dimensional object for additive manufacturing of the three-dimensional object.
    [3]
    A method according to claim 1, comprising generating, based on said processing, surface data representative of a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    [4]
    A method according to claim 3, comprising generating disk data with respect to at least one disk of the three-dimensional additive manufacturing object of the three-dimensional object, said disk data generation comprising processing said surface data.
    [5]
    A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the preliminary surface data is indicative of one or more of a one-dimensional feature and / or a two-dimensional feature for defining the three-dimensional shape of the surface of at least one the part of the three-dimensional object, without the preliminary data about the surface immediately indicating the three-dimensional shape of the surface.
    [6]
    A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one surface defining feature comprises at least one longitudinal axis of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    [7]
    A method according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the at least one surface defining feature comprises a framework of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    [8]
    A method according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the at least one surface defining feature includes a wire model of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    [9]
    A method according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the framework is defined on the basis of a graph of at least one pair of vertices, coupled to an edge that defines a part of the framework.
    [10]
    A method according to claims 7, 8 or 9, wherein the at least one feature comprises a thickness or a diameter with respect to a part of the framework so as to define the extent of a part of the surface of at least the part of the three-dimensional object.
    [11]
    A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one feature includes a tag for labeling at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    [12]
    A method according to claim 11, wherein the preliminary surface data is indicative of a surface surrounding the label of the object for label indicia of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    [13]
    A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one feature comprises a surface texture for the surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object, and said preliminary surface data is indicative of surface contours with respect to to a surface surrounding the surface texture representative of the surface texture of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    [14]
    A method according to any of claims 1 to 13, wherein the at least one feature comprises a surface texture for the surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object, the preliminary surface data containing image data indicative for surface contours with respect to a surface surrounding the surface texture, representative of the surface texture of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    [15]
    A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one surface defining feature comprises at least one disk of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    [16]
    A method according to claim 15, wherein the at least one feature comprises a stack of a plurality of disks from at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    [17]
    A method according to claim 16, wherein said processing involves defining a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object between a surface contour of a first disc of the stack and a surface contour of a second disc of the stack.
    [18]
    A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the preliminary surface data is indicative of a surface of a volume unit of a portion of the three-dimensional object and at least one location in the three-dimensional object where said surface volume unit is repeated.
    [19]
    A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said processing comprises interpreting the preliminary surface data and receiving the data defining the surface in accordance with said interpretation of the preliminary surface data surface to be used in generating the surface data and / or the disk data.
    [20]
    A method according to claim 19, including retrieving a database of data defining the surface in accordance with the interpretation of the preliminary surface data, said received data defining the surface being selected from the database as result of the aforementioned request.
    [21]
    A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the preliminary surface data consists of object data relating to at least the portion of the three-dimensional object and the object data further comprises data on a triangular grid representative of a surface of a part of the three-dimensional object.
    [22]
    A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one feature comprises a first material for a first portion of the three-dimensional object and a second material for a second portion of the three-dimensional object.
    [23]
    A method of processing data relating to at least a portion of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object, the method comprising: - receiving preliminary surface data indicative of at least one characteristic to be used in defining a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object, - processing said preliminary data whereby disk data are generated with respect to at least one disk of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object; and - sending said disk data to the additive manufacturing device for the purpose of instructing the additive manufacturing device to produce said at least portion of the three-dimensional object by means of an additive manufacturing technique.
    [24]
    A method according to claim 23, wherein said processing includes processing said preliminary surface data for the purpose of generating surface data representative of a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object, and processing of said surface data for the purpose of generating said disk data.
    [25]
    A method for generating data relating to at least a portion of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object, the method comprising: - processing surface data representative of a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object, generating preliminary surface data, indicative of at least one feature to be used in defining a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    [26]
    26. Device for processing data with regard to at least a part of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object, said device comprising: - at least one processor; and - computer program instructions containing at least one memory, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program instructions are configured for guiding the device with the at least one processor to perform: method for processing data with respect to at least a part of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object, the method comprising: processing preliminary data indicative of at least one characteristic to be used in defining a surface of at least at least the part of the three-dimensional object.
    [27]
    27. Device for processing data with regard to at least a part of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object, said device comprising: - at least one processor; and - computer program instructions containing at least one memory, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program instructions are configured for guiding the device with the at least one processor to perform: method for generating data with respect to at least a part of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object, the method comprising: processing preliminary data indicative of at least one characteristic to be used in defining a surface of at least ten at least the part of the three-dimensional object.
    [28]
    Device for processing data relating to at least a part of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object, said device comprising: - at least one processor; and - computer program instructions containing at least one memory, the at least one memory and the computer program instructions being configured for the purpose of carrying out, with the at least one processor, a method for carrying out a method for the processing of data relating to at least a portion of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object, the method comprising: - receiving preliminary data about the surface, indicative of at least one characteristic to be used in defining a surface of at least the part of the three-dimensional object, - processing said preliminary data, whereby disk data are generated with respect to at least one disk of at least the part of the three-dimensional object; and - sending said disk data to the additive manufacturing device for the purpose of instructing the additive manufacturing device to produce said at least portion of the three-dimensional object by means of an additive manufacturing technique.
    [29]
    29. A computer program product comprising a permanently computer-readable storage medium on which computer-readable instructions are stored, the computer-readable instructions being executed by a computerized device to cause the computerized device to perform a method of processing of data relating to at least a part of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object, the method comprising: - the processing of preliminary data indicative of at least one characteristic to be used in defining a surface of at least the part of the three-dimensional object.
    [30]
    30. Computer software for processing data relating to at least a part of a three-dimensional additive manufacturing object, the computer software being adapted to process preliminary surface data, indicative of at least one characteristic to be used in the defining a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
    [31]
    31. A storage medium containing a data structure with preliminary surface information, indicative of at least one characteristic to be used in defining a surface of at least a portion of a three-dimensional additive printing object, the surface preliminary information can be processed to be used in defining a surface of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object.
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    法律状态:
    优先权:
    申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题
    GBGB1314421.7A|GB201314421D0|2013-08-12|2013-08-12|Data Processing|
    GB13144217|2013-08-12|
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