Fractal raster tool paths for layered manufacturing of porous objects

The present work describes an approach for layered manufacturing (LM) of porous objects using an appropriate modelling scheme, a pre-processing algorithm for slicing and a raster tool path generation based on the porosity information. Initially an overall framework of modelling and data transfer that includes controlled porosity information apart from the external geometry of porous objects and its transfer for LM is presented. A novel raster path generation methodology using space-filling fractal curves for LM of porous models is presented later. Specifically, the geometry and space-filling characteristics of fractal curves are studied for application to raster tool path generation in LM. Finally, boundary-constrained raster patterns are generated based on the surface geometry. The resulting data can be translated into a machine language file that can be imported by an LM system. Case studies are presented to illustrate the efficacy of this approach.