Patent ID: 8175734

Claim:
A computerized method of transforming an inconsistent 3D (three-dimensional) model of one or more 3D objects into a valid printable 3D model, said method comprising: a) receiving at least one of a computerized input model file and computerized modeler data, giving rise to a computerized input 3D model having one or more parts; b) using a processor for analyzing said input 3D model and removing said input 3D model's one or more inconsistencies; c) using a processor for thickening the one or more parts of said 3D model, while preserving functionality of said one or more parts; and d) using a processor for unifying the union of interior volumes of said one or more parts, thereby removing at least one of self-intersections and intersections between the two or more parts, giving rise to a valid printable 3D model, wherein the thickening further comprises: determining whether the 3D model has convex sub-parts, and if not, decomposing parts of said 3D model into said convex sub-parts; computing the width of each sub-part; and thickening corresponding sub-parts, the vertical widths of which are smaller than a first predefined value, along the vertical direction, and thickening corresponding sub-parts, the horizontal widths of which are smaller than a second predefined value, along the horizontal direction.