Carvable packing of revolved 3D objects for subtractive manufacturing

• Published in: Graphical models Vol. 141; p. 101282
• Main Authors: Wei, Chengdong, Feng, Shuai, Xu, Hao, Zhang, Qidong, Zhang, Songyang, Li, Zongzhen, Tu, Changhe, Zhao, Haisen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.09.2025; Elsevier
• Subjects: Packing; Revolved 3D objects; Subtractive manufacturing; Packing; Subtractive manufacturing; Revolved 3D objects
• ISSN: 1524-0703
• DOI: 10.1016/j.gmod.2025.101282

Revolved 3D objects are widely used in industrial, manufacturing, and artistic fields, with subtractive manufacturing being a common production method. A key preprocessing step is to maximize raw material utilization by generating as many rough-machined inputs as possible from a single stock piece, which poses a packing problem constrained by tool accessibility. The main challenge is integrating tool accessibility into packing. This paper introduces the carvable packing problem for revolved objects, a critical but under-researched area in subtractive manufacturing. We propose a new carvable coarsening hull and a packing strategy that uses beam search and a bottom-up placement method to position these hulls in the stock material. Our method was tested on diverse sets of revolved objects with different geometries, and physical tests were conducted on a 5-axis machining platform, proving its ability to enhance material use and manufacturability. [Display omitted]