METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATIC SUPPORT GENERATION FOR AN OBJECT MADE BY MEANS OF A RAPID PROTOTYPE PRODUCTION METHOD
First Claim
1. A method of generating support structure data for a three-dimensional object comprising the steps of:
- receiving first object layer data describing a first layer of an object;
defining a support region within the first layer;
defining a first support point within the support region;
defining an external support mesh for the object comprising a plurality of nodes connected by a plurality of edges; and
defining a connection edge between the first support point of the object and a selected node of the external support mesh.
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Abstract
The present invention is directed to an improved method for supporting an object made by means of stereo lithography or any other rapid prototype production method. The generation of the support begins by determining the region that requires support in each layer of the object and defines a number of support points in this region. In a next step, a support mesh is generated connected to the object using these support points. The present invention also discloses different techniques that reduce superfluous edges to further optimize the support mesh. Finally, a support is generated from this support mesh. The present invention may facilitate the generation of supports data by employing more automation and less user analysis.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method of generating support structure data for a three-dimensional object comprising the steps of:
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receiving first object layer data describing a first layer of an object; defining a support region within the first layer; defining a first support point within the support region; defining an external support mesh for the object comprising a plurality of nodes connected by a plurality of edges; and defining a connection edge between the first support point of the object and a selected node of the external support mesh. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification