RAPID RECIPES FOR PARAMETRIC SURFACE MODELS

Manufacturing technologies generally known as Rapid Prototyping Techniques (RPT) have special requirements concerning data representation. One particular class of techniques is called Layered Manufacturing Techniques (LMT) which build parts on a layer-by-layer basis. A 3D model can be correctly manufactured if it represents a solid or volume. In the case of parametric surface models, the model is either facetted and subsequently sliced, or sliced directly. This paper deals with the problem of verifying the correctness of the surface model and eliminating the existing gaps between adjacent surfaces or faces such that resulting facetted or sliced model is correct.