Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.P.

Peridot Print LLC

Sergio Gonzalez

Lluis Abello Rosello

Matthew Allen Shepherd

Jordi Gonzalez Rogel

Alex Carruesco Llorens

Alvar Vinacua

Pere Brunet

Scott A White

Josep Giralt Adroher

Jordi Gonzalez

Marc Comino

Sergio Puigardeu Aramendia

Sebastia Cortes I Herms

Sebastia Cortes

Sebastia Cortes Herms

Barret Kammerzell

Josh Shepherd

Jordi Roca

Jordi Sanroma

In an example, a method includes receiving, at least one processor, a mesh model for an object, a first transformation matrix to apply to the mesh model to describe a first object for generation in additive manufacturing and a second transformation matrix to apply to the mesh model to describe a second object for generation in additive manufacturing. The method may further include determining, by at least one processor, if the first and second transformation matrices describe transformations which are equivalent in terms of mesh errors and, if so, inspecting the mesh model for mesh errors once for both the first and second transformation matrices.

Inspecting mesh models

An additive manufacturing apparatus includes an additive manufacturing engine and an input to receive a plurality of part files to create a plurality of parts. Each part file includes a description of a part to be created by the additive manufacturing engine. A processor interprets a part file to read the description of the part from the part file, stores at least a portion of the description of the part, and repeats the interpretation and storing for each of the received part files. A job composer generates a manufacturing job using the stored descriptions and using characteristics of the additive manufacturing engine, and provides the generated manufacturing job to the additive manufacturing engine.

Generating a manufacturing job

In an example implementation, a method of compensating for dimensional variation in 3D printing includes receiving a 3D object model that represents a 3D part to be printed. The method also includes receiving a build material type and a position for printing the 3D part within a build volume. The method includes determining from the position, target subvolumes of the build volume into which the 3D part is to be printed, retrieving a dimensional compensation factor associated with each target subvolume, and then applying each dimensional compensation factor to the 3D object model to scale the 3D part according to the position of the 3D part within the build volume.

Compensating for dimensional variation in 3D printing

One example of a method includes receiving a three-dimensional (3D) model of an object to be 3D printed and voxelizing the 3D model to define a plurality of voxel layers. Each voxel layer defines a plurality of voxel rows including an initial voxel row. The method includes for each voxel layer: exclusively oring (XORing) a key voxel row with the Initial voxel row to provide an initial delta row; and for each voxel row from the voxel row following the initial voxel row to a further voxel row of the plurality of voxel rows, XORing each voxel row with the previous voxel row to provide a delta row for each voxel row.

XOR processing of voxels of three-dimensional models

A method is described in which a 3MF (3D Manufacturing Format) file is adapted for use with a three-dimensional (3D) printing system. The 3MF file includes at least one 3D model having polygonal slices. The method comprises parsing the 3MF file, generating an intermediate file for the 3D model included in the 3MF file, and performing a polygon cleanup for the polygonal slices of the 3D model of the intermediate file. The polygon cleanup is performed using an implementation of a polygon clipping algorithm. Further, the method comprises generating a resulting file for the intermediate file comprising the polygonal slices for which the polygon cleanup has been performed.

Adapting a 3D printing file

In an example, a method includes acquiring, at a processor, a first data model and a second data model. The first data model comprises a representation of at least one property of at least part of a first object and the second data model comprises a representation of at least one property of at least part of a second object. The first and second objects are to be generated in a common additive manufacturing operation. The method may include generating a first print layer model and a second, different, print layer model using the processor by combining at least parts of the first data model and the second data model and generating additive manufacturing instructions based on the first print layer model and the second print layer model.

Generating additive manufacturing instructions

A method is described in which a 3D printing file is processed, the 3D printing file having a header and including a plurality of compressed files. The method comprises reading a content of the header of the 3D printing file, identifying, based on the header content, a relation file among the plurality of compressed files, identifying, based on the relation file, a main 3D model file among the plurality of compressed files. Further the method comprises creating, by uncompressing the main 3D model file, a data stream, and analyzing, with a parser, the data stream, thereby directly processing the main 3D model file when being uncompressed.

Processing of 3D printing files

In an example, a method includes receiving a first data model of an object to be generated in additive manufacturing, at a processor. Using the processor, a second data model may be determined. Determining the second data model may include generating for each of plurality of contiguous, non-overlapping sub-volumes of a volume containing the object, a sub-volume octree characterising the sub-volume and having a root node. Determining the second data model may further include generating a volume octree characterising the volume containing the object, the volume octree characterising in its lowest nodes the root nodes of the sub-volume octrees.

Sub-volume octrees

In an example, a method includes receiving, at a processor, data representing at least part of an object to be manufactured in a layer-by-layer manufacturing process. A serialised octree representation of at least part of the object may be generated from the data. In the serialised octree representation, nodes are ordered such that (i) a node representing a volume which includes a layer of the object to be generated earlier in an intended order of object generation precedes a node representing a volume which consists of layer(s) of the object to be generated subsequently; (ii) nodes representing a volume which includes a given layer of the object are ordered based on a level of the nodes within the octree representation, wherein parent nodes appear before descendent nodes; and (iii) nodes representing a volume which includes a given layer of the object and being of the same level within the octree representation are ordered according to a location encoding pattern.

Serialising a representation of a three dimensional object

A method comprises receiving object model data in an original coordinate system to print within a predefined usable build volume of a three dimensional printer. The method comprises receiving at least one compensation factor for the object model data to compensate for any shrinking of an object. The method comprises scaling the object model data by the at least one compensation factor to provide printable object model data. The scaling is performed with reference to an origin at a centre of the usable build volume.

Compensating for shrinking of objects in 3D printing

In an example, a method includes receiving, at a processor, data representing a three dimensional object. Using the processor, a modified data representation of the three dimensional object may be determined wherein, in the modified data representation, the three dimensional object is represented in terms of homogenous sub-volumes. Each homogenous sub-volume is homogenous with respect to a predetermined attribute and contains locations which are within a common object boundary distance band of plurality of object boundary distance bands, wherein at least two object boundary distance bands partially overlap.

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Sant Cugat del Valles, Spain

Sergio Gonzalez