METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR 3-D PRINTING PRODUCT CUSTOMIZATION

• US 20140214371A1
• Filed: 01/31/2014
• Published: 07/31/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: WhiteClouds, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sandboxr, LLC
• Inventors: Schulz, Nicholas Michael, Frei, Berkley RJ, Young, Taaga James
• Application Number:
  US14/170,291
• Publication Number:
  US 20140214371A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 703/1
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/00 Additive manufacturing, i.e. manufacturing of three-dimensional [3D] objects by additive deposition, additive agglomeration or additive layering, e.g. by 3D printing, stereolithography or selective laser sintering
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/386 Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/08 Blades for rotors, stators, fans, turbines or the like, e.g. screw propellers
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 50/00 Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing

Abstract

An exemplary method of 3-D printing user-designed creation design may comprise uploading, to a 3-D printing development application by a contributor, an asset file, setting parameters of the asset file in response to input from the contributor, generating an asset bundle based on the asset file and the parameters, rendering a snapshot of the asset bundle. Furthermore, the present disclosure includes a computer-based system configured to facilitate creating a user-designed creation for 3-D printing, said computer-based system to perform operations comprising displaying an asset bundle library for browsing by a consumer, receiving a selection of one or more asset bundles for purchase from the consumer, generating the user-designed creation in response to receiving manipulation instructions for the one or more asset bundles within pre-set limitations, and receiving an order for a 3-D user-designed creation of the user-designed creation.

Claims

1. A method comprising

uploading, to a 3-D printing development application by a contributor, an asset file;

setting, by the 3-D printing development application, parameters of the asset file in response to input from the contributor;

generating, by the 3-D printing development application, an asset bundle based on the asset file and the parameters;

rendering, by the 3-D printing development application, a snapshot of the asset bundle.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameters of the asset include at least one of animations, use policy, categorization, access rights, virtual environment access, modification limitations, and combination limitations.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing visual consumer previews of the asset bundle to a consumer.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameters of the asset comprises licensing limitations as set by a contributor

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the licensing limitations are at least one of limited runs and limited terms.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the licensing limitations have different licensing levels with different price points.

7. A method comprising:

browsing an asset bundle library of a 3-D printing development application;

selecting one or more asset bundles from the asset bundle library for purchase;

creating, in the 3-D printing development application, a user-designed creation by manipulating the one or more asset bundles within pre-set limitations; and

ordering a 3-D user-designed creation of the user-designed creation.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising saving the user-designed creation in a personal consumer account.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the manipulating comprises rotating the one or more asset bundles about a joint point of an asset bundle of the one or more asset bundles.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising attaching a first asset bundle at a first attachment point to a second asset at a second asset point.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein a position of at least one of the first attachment point and the second attachment point is set by a consumer.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein a position of at least one of the first attachment point and the second attachment point is set by a contributor.

13. The method of claim 7, further comprising automatically adjusting the one or more asset bundles to maintain printability of the user-designed creation.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the printability of the user-designed creation is single-print printability.

15. The method of claim 7, wherein the manipulating comprises at least one of scaling a size of at least one asset bundle of the one or more asset bundles, setting a color of at least one asset bundle of the one or more asset bundles, and rotating at least one asset bundle of the one or more asset bundles.

16. The method of claim 7, wherein the manipulating comprises deforming at least one asset bundle of the one or more asset bundles.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the user-designed creation is a character and wherein the deforming comprises setting a facial expression of the character.

18. An article of manufacture including a non-transitory, tangible computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a computer-based system configured to facilitate creating a user-designed creation for 3-D printing, cause said computer-based system to perform operations comprising:

displaying, by said computer-based system, an asset bundle library for browsing by a consumer;

receiving, by said computer-based system, a selection of one or more asset bundles for purchase from the consumer;

generating, by said computer-based system, the user-designed creation in response to receiving manipulation instructions for the one or more asset bundles within pre-set limitations; and

receiving, by said computer-based system, an order for a 3-D user-designed creation of the user-designed creation.