Figure 1: Using offline adaptive sampling, our method converts general parametric designs into Fab Forms, parameterized object representations supporting interactive customization, while ensuring high-level object validity. All realized designs are functional and fabricable and can be previewed in real time. We automatically skin these representations with a Web customization UI intended for casual users. We address the problem of allowing casual users to customize parametric models while maintaining their valid state as 3D-printable functional objects. We define Fab Form as any design representation that lends itself to interactive customization by a novice user, while remaining valid and manufacturable. We propose a method to achieve these Fab Form requirements for general parametric designs tagged with a general set of automated validity tests and a small number of parameters exposed to the casual user. Our solution separates Fab Form evaluation into a precomputation stage and a runtime stage. Parts of the geometry and design validity (such as manufacturability) are evaluated and stored in the precomputation stage by adaptively sampling the design space. At runtime the remainder of the evaluation is performed. This allows interactive navigation in the valid regions of the design space using an automatically generated Web user interface (UI). We evaluate our approach by converting several parametric models into corresponding Fab Forms.
Recently, Shugrina et al. REF developed a system that allows novices to easily customize parametric models while maintaining 3D-printability of the models.
Fab forms: customizable objects for fabrication with validity and geometry caching
TOGS
Computer Science