ADAPTIVE SLICING IN 3D PRINTING PROCESS

Slicing process has a key role in rapid prototyping or layered manufacturing. A part is produced using layer-by-layer addition of the material in this process. Rapid prototyping system is slicing a CAD model of the part. There are many slicing approaches: adaptive slicing, direct slicing and adaptive direct slicing. Slicing of CAD model with a very small slice thickness leads to large build time of a part. In case of large slice thickness the surface of a part has bad quality. It is necessary to find optimal thickness for layers of the CAD model. This paper presents one adaptive slicing method for determining of layer thickness. This method takes into account cusp height, contour circumference, center of gravity of the contour, and distance between the boundary of the CAD model and the boundary of the resulting part in each layer. This method includes different treatment of individual parts of the model regarding its functional or aesthetic characteristics. In compliance with this additional optimization of the layers thickness is made on the RP systems.