Section: Application Domains

Fast prototyping

We work in collaboration with CIRTES on rapid prototyping. CIRTES , a company based in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, has designed a technique called Stratoconception${}^{◯R}$ where a prototype of a 3D computer model is constructed by first decomposing the model into layers and then manufacturing separately each layer, typically out of wood of standard thickness (e.g. 1 cm), with a three-axis CNC (Computer Numerical Controls) milling machine. The layers are then assembled together to form the object. The Stratoconception${}^{◯R}$ technique is cheap and allows fast prototyping of large models.

When the model is complex, for example an art sculpture, some parts of the models may be inaccessible to the milling machine. These inaccessible regions are sanded out by hand in a post-processing phase. This phase is very consuming in time and resources. We work on minimizing the amount of work to be done in this last phase by improving the algorithmic techniques for decomposing the model into layers, that is, finding a direction of slicing and a position of the first layer.