Internet-based design visualization for layered manufacturing
When considering the use of layered manufacturing (LM), there are many issues a designer has to address for handling a stereolithography tessellation language (STL) model, the de facto standard for LM. In this paper, we propose an Internet-based design visualization tool for decision support when optimizing the LM process in support of a highly interactive and collaborative virtual environment between CAD designers and LM processes over networks. It directly provides designers with an advanced preprocessor functionality, design visualization/optimization, as well as model display, repair, and slicing over the network. This can help smooth data transfer from CAD to the LM process with minimum inconsistency in CAD data.
design visualization lm stl cad internet