Development of Design and Slicing File Based Automated Output Object Analysis System

• Published in: 2023 23rd International Conference on Control, Automation and Systems (ICCAS) pp. 895 - 898
• Main Authors: Han, Hyonyoung, Lee, Seongyeop, Son, Jiyeon
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: ICROS 17.10.2023
• Subjects: 3D Printer; Analysis; Analytical models; Automation; Filling; Object information; Optical imaging; Slicing; Solid modeling; STL; Three-dimensional displays; Three-dimensional printing
• DOI: 10.23919/ICCAS59377.2023.10317022

This paper discusses the development of an automatic printout information analysis system for post-processing automation of additive manufacturing equipment. Since optical 3D printers can print multiple objects simultaneously, the development of post-processing automation, which is currently analyzed as a bottleneck, is expected to have a great industrial impact. For post-processing automation, information such as the number, size, and filling ratio of printed objects is required. In order to comprehensively analyze the individual and overall information of the output objects from the additive manufacturing equipment, this study analyzed the output information based on the CAD file in STL format, which is the target object information, and the slicing file, which is composed of the header file and the layer-by-layer image. The analysis system consists of a CAD model analysis module, a slicing model analysis module, and an integrated printout analysis module. The CAD model analysis module analyzes the model of the CAD file in STL format to analyze the size, volume and surface area of the target product. The slicing model analysis module analyzes the header file and image files within the slicing file to analyze the number of objects and the output volume of each object. The Integrated printout Analysis module integrates and analyzes the results of the CAD Model Analysis module and the Slicing Model Analysis module to analyze the filling ratio of each object. As a result of the system, the basic information of the output products is analyzed, such as the total number of output products, the surface area of each output product, and the filling ratio of each output product. This information can be used as a basis for automating the post-processing process in the future.