Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the priority benefit of Chinese Application serial no. 201510130334.5 filed Mar. 24, 2015, the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0003]    The present disclosure relates to a 3D model printing method. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a 3D model assembly printing method. 
         [0004]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0005]    A three-dimensional (3D) printer is an equipment which can print out a real three-dimensional object. The three-dimensional object is formed through depositing materials layer by layer and accumulating the layers to fabricate the object. This is different from other typical fabrication processes, which utilizes material removal machining. 3D printing is an additive manufacturing (AM) technique whereby a three-dimensional object is created by continuously printing continuous physical layers and adding new layer over the previous accumulated layers. 3D printing manufacturing has advantages over other additive manufacturing techniques such as faster speed, lower cost and 
         [0006]    Currently, a three-dimensional printer performs several steps when printing a three-dimensional object. Firstly, a contour data of the printed three-dimensional object is acquired to form a corresponding three-dimensional printing model. Then, according to the model, the three-dimensional printer manufactures a three-dimensional unit with default printing configurations. 
         [0007]    Due to physical size limitations, three-dimensional printers are configured with print dimension limits. Therefore, in order to manufacture varying size three-dimensional units, the three-dimensional printers may be forced to adopt different printing strategies to meet different demands. For example, if a three-dimensional printing model exceeds a three-dimensional printer&#39;s print dimension limits, the model may be divided into multiple 3D sub-models in which each conforms within the print dimension limitation. Accordingly, 3D sub-units corresponding to the 3D sub-models may be printed and then assembled to form the desired three-dimensional unit. 
         [0008]    When printing small-scale three-dimensional unit, a 3D printer may encounter various challenges, such as poor printing resolution which makes the printed unit texture rough, time and power-use inefficiency in printing small units, and unnecessary material wastage, etc. Also, to print small-scale unit, there may need to be some additional outer supporting structures to be printed to strengthen the printed small-scale unit, causing further time, energy and material wastages. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0009]    According to one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for creating a 3D printable assembly model. The method includes providing 3D models; performing a contour analysis on each of the 3D models to obtain contour data respectively corresponding with the 3D models; performing iterative computations, based on the contour data, to obtain selected 3D models for use to create the 3D printable assembly model; and arranging and adjoining the selected 3D models to integrally form the 3D printable assembly model comprising dimensions printable by a 3D printer. 
         [0010]    According to another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for printing a 3D assembly unit. The method includes providing a 3D printer configured with predetermined printing dimensional limits; obtaining a 3D printable assembly model according to the aforesaid method for creating the 3D printable assembly model; and printing a 3D assembly unit using the 3D printable assembly model, in which the 3D assembly unit includes dimensions printable within the predetermined printing dimensional limits. 
         [0011]    According to another aspect, the present disclosure provides a 3D printer having printable dimensional limits. The 3D printer includes a storage module, a processing module and a printing module. The storage module is configured to store 3D models for use in 3D printing. The processing module is configured to perform a contour analysis on each of the 3D models to obtain contour data respectively corresponding with the 3D models, to generate selected 3D models by performing iterative computations on the contour data, and to arrange and adjoin the selected 3D models to integrally form a 3D printable assembly model, in which the 3D printable assembly model is generated within the printable dimensional limits of the 3D printer. The printing module is configured to print a 3D assembly unit substantially according to the 3D printable assembly model. 
         [0012]    It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are provided as examples, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
         [0013]    The disclosure can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiments, with reference made to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a flow chart of a method for creating a 3D printable assembly model and utilizing the 3D printable assembly model to print a 3D assembly unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a 3D printer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0016]      FIGS. 3 and 4  are schematic cross-sectional views of 3D models according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is a schematic cross-sectional view of a 3D printable assembly model comprising the 3D models shown in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  is a schematic representation of a 3D printer creating a 3D assembly unit from the 3D printable assembly model shown in  FIG. 5 , according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
       [0019]    Corresponding numerals and symbols shown in the figures generally refer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated. The figures illustrate relevant aspects of the embodiments and are not necessarily drawn to scale. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0020]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a method  100  for creating a 3D printable assembly model and utilizing the 3D printable assembly model to print a 3D assembly unit is provided, which includes steps  101  to  106 . In step  101 , 3D models are provided or acquired by a 3D printer device performing said method. In step  102 , a contour analysis is performed on each of the 3D models provided in step  101 , to obtain contour data respectively corresponding with the 3D models. In some embodiments, the performing of the contour analysis may include computing dimensions of a contour of each of the 3D models, and computing a contour space located proximal to the contour. The dimensions of the contour described herein may represent, for example, width/depth/height dimensions of the contour. In some embodiments, the performing of the contour analysis may include creating a projected outline of each of the 3D models by contour projection, and measuring the projected outline. The projected outline may be created by projecting the outline of the 3D model onto three or more projected planes from different angles. In some embodiments, the projected outline may be created by projecting the outline of the 3D model onto three projected planes, which are mutually orthogonal to each other. 
         [0021]    It should be noted that, the contour space described herein may include a space within the printing dimensional limits of the 3D printer not occupied by the computed 3D model, and the contour analysis may place the computed 3D model at various locations within the printing dimensional limits to compute the contour space. Therefore, the contour space may vary depending on the location of the computed 3D model placed inside the space created with the printing dimensional limits, so the computation of the contour space may be obtained by executing iterative computations, which is described in the following steps. 
         [0022]    In step  103 , iterative computations are performed based on the contour data, to obtain selected 3D models chosen from the plurality of 3D models provided in step  101 . The selected 3D models are configured to be used to create a 3D printable assembly model. In some embodiments, the performing of the iterative computations may include determining whether any of the rest of the 3D models can be wholly placed within the contour space of the computed 3D model, and selecting the computed 3D model and the rest of the 3D model that can be wholly placed within the contour space. The selected 3D models are used to create the 3D printable assembly model. 
         [0023]    It should be noted that, in some embodiments, the composition of the selected 3D models may vary depending on the computed 3D model and the contour space created by the computed model. That is, the selected 3D models described herein may not represent the only suitable combination. A configuration of selecting the selected 3D models among the 3D models to obtain the selected 3D models may be adjusted to the actual user requirements. For example, the selected 3D models may be selected from the 3D models to create a 3D printable assembly model occupying the most of the space within the contour space. For example, the selected 3D models may be selected from the 3D models to create a 3D printable assembly model by the 3D models being provided on-demand. 
         [0024]    In some embodiments, the performing of the iterative computations may further include designating a part of the contour as an allowable region for adjoining the selected 3D model. The allowable region described herein may represent a region on a surface of the computed 3D model of which the corresponding contour space which can wholly accommodate the one or more selected 3D models. Alternatively, the allowable region described herein may represent a region on the surface of the computed 3D model for the computed 3D model to adjoin the rest of the selected 3D model. In step  104 , the selected 3D models can be arranged and adjoined to integrally form a 3D printable assembly model whose dimensions are within the printable dimensional limits of the 3D printer. It should be noted that, the predetermined printing dimensional limits described herein may be different as different 3D printers, so the 3D printable assembly model may not represent a fixed combination, and would depend on different printing configurations. 
         [0025]    In some embodiments, the arranging and adjoining of the selected 3D models may include determining a placement configuration of the selected 3D models. This may be done according to the contour data of the selected 3D models to compute a characteristic curve of each of the selected 3D models, and arranging the selected 3D models by matching the characteristic curves of the selected 3D models. In some embodiments, the placement configuration may include both a placement direction and a placement tilt angle of the selected 3D model. In some embodiments, the characteristic curve of each of the selected 3D models may be computed based on the contour data created in step  103 , either being computed or projected. In some embodiments, a recognition and matching algorithm may be adopted to match the characteristic curves of the selected 3D models for arranging the selected 3D models into a 3D printable assembly model. The recognition and matching algorithm described herein may be executed to first recognize each of the selected 3D models, and the match the characteristic curves of the selected 3D models without overlapped area for arranging the selected 3D models into a 3D printable assembly model. Afterwards, adjoining the selected 3D models adjacent to each others in the 3D printable assembly model. In some embodiments, the arranging and the adjoining of the selected 3D models may fulfill a requirement that the dimensions or volume of the contour of the 3D printable assembly model are minimized, in order to save printing time, electricity and consumptive material. 
         [0026]    In some embodiments, the arranging and adjoining of the selected 3D models may include adopting a connectivity judging algorithm on the 3D printable assembly model to determine whether the selected 3D models are mismatched or not, to ensure that the selected 3D models are arranged into the 3D printable assembly model without any overlapped area. For example, the connectivity judging algorithm may be executed to ensure that any of the selected 3D models in the 3D printable assembly model doesn&#39;t connect with each other, so that a 3D assembly unit based on the 3D printable assembly model can be printed without any overlapping area. Any overlapping area between two or more selected 3D models in the 3D printable assembly models is undesirable as it may also create overlapping area in the 3D assembly unit, which may ruin the 3D sub-units while performing disassembly of the 3D sub-units. 
         [0027]    In some embodiments, the arranging and adjoining of the selected 3D models may further include forming joining support members located between the selected 3D models for connecting the selected 3D models. The joining support members may also provide the 3D sub-unit support before it is disassembled from the 3D assembly unit. In some embodiments, the shape of the joining support members may be a square, a rectangle, a diamond, a circle, an oval, a rhombus or other suitable shape. In some other embodiments, the printed 3D assembly unit may not have the joining support members among the 3D sub-units. 
         [0028]    Thereafter, the 3D printable assembly model is utilized for printing the 3D assembly unit, described in detail as step  105  and step  106 . In step  105 , a 3D printer with the defined printable dimensional limits is provided. The 3D printer is configured to print the 3D assembly unit using the 3D printable assembly model. In step  106 , the printed 3D assembly unit may be further disassembled into 3D sub-units, in which the 3D sub-units respectively correspond with the selected 3D models, which are joined to form the 3D printable assembly model. The disassembling of the 3D assembly unit may be executed by a cutter engaging the 3D assembly unit, such that the cutter is configured to directly separate or slice the 3D assembly unit into the 3D sub-units. 
         [0029]    Accordingly, instead of needing to print the outer supporting structure, the computed 3D model and the rest of the selected 3D models can be supported by each other. The method  100  can create several 3D sub-units in a single printing process rather than multiple printing processes, and the consumption of time, electricity and consumptive material for printing the 3D models can be saved. 
         [0030]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , a 3D printer  200  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is provided. The 3D printer  200  has printable dimensional limits and includes a storage module  220 , a processing module  240  and a printing module  260 . In an alternative embodiment, the 3D printer  200  further includes a Disassembling unit  280 . The storage module  220  is configured to store 3D models for use in 3D printing. In some embodiments, the 3D models can be acquired from an acquisition module (not shown), which scans physical objects and constructs 3D models of the scanned physical object. In some embodiments, the 3D models can be acquired from other devices, for example, from interconnected remote devices or from cloud servers. In some embodiments, the processing module  240  may include a contour analysis unit  242 , a computing unit  244 , and an assembling unit  246 . In some embodiments, the contour analysis unit  242  may be configured to perform a contour analysis on each of the 3D models to obtain a contour data respectively corresponding with the 3D models. In some embodiments, the computing unit  244  may be configured to generate the selected 3D models by performing the iterative computations on the contour data. In some embodiments, the assembling unit  246  may be configured to arrange and adjoin the one or more selected 3D models to integrally form a 3D printable assembly model. The printing module  260  is configured to print a 3D assembly unit substantially according to the 3D printable assembly model. 
         [0031]    In some embodiments, the assembling unit  246  may also be configured to adopt the contour data of the selected 3D models to compute characteristic curves for arranging the selected 3D models by matching the characteristic curves. In some embodiments, the assembling unit  246  may also be configured to adopt a connectivity judging algorithm on the 3D printable assembly model to determine if the selected 3D models are matched or mismatched. 
         [0032]    In some embodiments, the processing module  240  may also be configured to generate at least one joining support member among the selected 3D models in the 3D printable assembly model to adjoin the adjacent selected 3D models. 
         [0033]    In some embodiments, the 3D printer  200  may further include a disassembling unit  280  configured to disassemble the 3D assembly unit into 3D sub-units, in which the 3D sub-units are corresponded with the selected 3D models forming the 3D printable assembly model. In some embodiments, the disassembling unit  280  may include a cutter, and the cutter can be configured to disengage the 3D assembly unit, to separate the 3D assembly unit into the 3D sub-units. 
         [0034]    Referring to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , a dashed-line frame surrounding a first 3D model  320  and a second 3D model  420  represents printing dimension limits of a 3D printer capable of printing out the first 3D model  320  and the second 3D model  420 . In prior art operation, to print the first and second 3D models  320 ,  420  separately, the 3D printer needs to print each with additional outer supporting structures. For example, the 3D printer prints outer supporting structures  340  in order to support the printed first 3D model  320  during the printing process. Otherwise, the printed first 3D model  320  may be tilted during the printing process due to an imbalance of force exerted on the printed 3D model  320 . The tilted printed first 3D model  320  during the printing process may cause deviation of the printed first 3D model  320 , and the deviation of the printed first 3D model  320  may result in the 3D printer continuously printing onto an incorrect position relative to the printed first 3D model  320 . Similarly, prior art processes of printing out the second 3D model  420  by a 3D printer would also need to include printing out some additional outer supporting structures, such as an outer supporting structure  440 . 
         [0035]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , the 3D printer  200  is configured to print out the first 3D model  320  to create a first 3D sub-unit  620 ; print out the second 3D model  420  to create a second 3D sub-unit  640 ; and print out a third 3D model  520  (shown in  FIG. 5 ) to create a third 3D sub-unit  660 . Firstly, the contour analysis unit  242  of the processing module  240  performs a contour analysis on each of the first, second, and third 3D models  320 ,  420 ,  520 , to obtain corresponding contour data of each of the 3D models. Subsequently, the computing unit  244  performs iterative computations to generate the selected 3D models based on the contour data. The first, second, and third 3D models  320 ,  420 ,  520  are selected as they can be assembled within the predetermined printing dimensional limits (see  FIG. 5 ). Thereafter, the assembling unit  246  of the processing unit  240  adopts the contour data of the first, second, and third 3D models  320 ,  420 ,  520  to compute characteristic curves, and then arranges and adjoins them by matching the characteristic curves into the 3D printable assembly model  500 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . In some embodiments, the matching of the characteristic curves described herein may be executed as matching puzzles in two dimensions. Therefore, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , a 3D printable assembly model  500  can be generated by combining the first, second, and third 3D models  320 ,  420 ,  520 . 
         [0036]    Referring back to the  FIG. 6 , the printing module  260  can print out a 3D assembly unit  600  layer by layer, in which the 3D assembly unit  600  is printed substantially according to the 3D printable assembly model  500 , and within the printing dimensional limits shown in dashed-line frame in  FIG. 5 . The 3D sub-units of the 3D assembly unit  600 , such as the first 3D sub-unit  620 , the second 3D sub-unit  640 , and the third 3D sub-unit  660 , correspond to the first 3D models  320 , the second 3D model  420 , and the third 3D model  520  respectively. The 3D sub-units  620 ,  640 ,  660  are printed in a single printing process, instead of printing each out individually. 
         [0037]    In some embodiment, the assembling unit  246  may adopt the connectivity judging algorithm on the 3D printable assembly model  500  to determine if the 3D models  320 ,  420 ,  520  are mismatched, or to ensure that they are arranged into the 3D printable assembly model  500  without any overlapping area. 
         [0038]    In some embodiments, the processing module  240  may generate joining support members  540  to adjoin the adjacent selected 3D models, as shown in  FIG. 5 . Then, the 3D printable assembly model  500  with the joining support members  540  can be printed out to construct a 3D assembly unit  600  with the joining support members  680 . 
         [0039]    It will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that changes, substitutions, and alterations can be made to the embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Features, functions, processes, materials, machines, fabricate, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed, that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present disclosure.

Technology Category: 7