Title: New concept contemporary integrated rapid prototyping system and its software implementation

Authors: Anping Xu, Yunxia Qu, Yushan Liu, Guolin Duan, Runhua Tan

Addresses: School of Mechanical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Dingzigu No.1 Road, Hongqiao District, Tianjin 300130, PR China. ' School of Mechanical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Dingzigu No.1 Road, Hongqiao District, Tianjin 300130, PR China. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology and Education, Tianjin 300222, PR China. ' School of Mechanical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130, PR China. ' School of Mechanical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130, PR China

Abstract: In this paper, a new concept Contemporary Integrated Rapid Prototyping System (CIRPS) is proposed and the software system is developed under the environment of Mechanical Desktop (MDT). First of all, the systematic framework of the software is described. Then the methods to internally represent 3D model built in MDT and to extract the model data including geometrical and topological information are studied. Based on them, an adaptive direct slicing algorithm is constructed and realised by applying a grid-based intersection principle between the plane and parametric surface. In addition, a novel 2D layer file named CLA is proposed. Finally, all functional modules are developed employing VC++ and MDT API, thus implementing the seamless integration of 3D modelling, model data processing and NC codes generation. The work of this study is significant in improving the part quality, simplifying the RP data preprocessing and calling for the market reorientation of RP devices.

Keywords: rapid prototyping; RP; integrated software systems; model data processing; process planning; numerical control; geometrical information; topological information; adaptive direct slicing; NC code generation; design engineering.

DOI: 10.1504/IJDE.2007.015336

International Journal of Design Engineering, 2007 Vol.1 No.1, pp.71 - 82

Published online: 10 Oct 2007 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article