Solid identification grid engine for calculating support material volumes, and methods of use

摘要

A method for calculating a support material volume, the method comprising generating a grid of cells for a tree data structure of a digital part, where the cells define a plurality of cell arrays, and pinging the cells of one of the cell arrays until a cell containing a subset of the tree data structure is reached or until each cell in the cell array is pinged, where if a cell containing the subset of the tree data structure is reached, then designating the reached cell and all remaining unpinged cells in the cell array as filled. The method also includes repeating the pinging step for each remaining cell array to determine a total filled volume, and subtracting a volume of the digital part from the total filled volume to determine a support material volume.

主权项

1. A method for using a digital part in an additive manufacturing process, the method comprising:
receiving the digital part on one or more data storage devices of a computer; generating a data structure for the digital part with the computer, wherein the generated data structure comprises a plurality of subsets based on a geometry of the digital part; generating a grid of cells for the data structure with the computer, wherein each subset is located in one of the cells, and wherein the cells define a plurality of cell arrays each having a first cell and a last cell offset along a directional axis; and analyzing the cells in a first cell array of the plurality of cell arrays until one of the cells with one of the subsets is identified, wherein if such a cell is identified, then designating the cells in the first cell array between the identified cell and the last cell in the first cell array as filled such that at least one unanalyzed cell is designated as filled; and repeating the analyzing step for at least a portion of the remaining cell arrays to determine a total filled volume.