From 3D Models to 3D Prints: an Overview of the Processing Pipeline <s> Print, pack and ship paradigm <s> We present a method for transforming a 3D object into a cube or a box using a continuous folding sequence. Our method produces a single, connected object that can be physically fabricated and folded from one shape to the other. We segment the object into voxels and search for a voxel-tree that can fold from the input shape to the target shape. This involves three major steps: finding a good voxelization, finding the tree structure that can form the input and target shapes' configurations, and finding a non-intersecting folding sequence. We demonstrate our results on several input 3D objects and also physically fabricate some using a 3D printer. <s> BIB001 </s> From 3D Models to 3D Prints: an Overview of the Processing Pipeline <s> Print, pack and ship paradigm <s> Modern 3D printing technologies and the upcoming mass-customization paradigm call for efficient methods to produce and distribute arbitrarily shaped 3D objects. This paper introduces an original algorithm to split a 3D model in parts that can be efficiently packed within a box, with the objective of reassembling them after delivery. The first step consists in the creation of a hierarchy of possible parts that can be tightly packed within their minimum bounding boxes. In a second step, the hierarchy is exploited to extract the single segmentation whose parts can be most tightly packed. The fact that shape packing is an NP-complete problem justifies the use of heuristics and approximated solutions whose efficacy and efficiency must be assessed. Extensive experimentation demonstrates that our algorithm produces satisfactory results for arbitrarily shaped objects while being comparable to ad hoc methods when specific shapes are considered. <s> BIB002
Delivering a printed object (e.g. to a customer) has a cost that grows as the size of the pack grows. Thus, it is important to investigate how a 3D model can be split into easily printable parts that can eventually be tightly packed in a box and reassembled at the destination. In BIB002 , an algorithm that performs this kind of split is proposed based on a user-controllable tradeoff between Table 3 : Relations between process planning steps and quality metrics. the packing efficiency and the number of parts to be produced. In [VGB * 14b], the focus is mainly on the reduction of the material usage, for which hollowing and orientation optimization are used: however, the eventual packing efficiency is one of the parameters that drives the overall optimization process. In [YCL * 15], the structural stresses are also considered to perform the subdivision prior to the packing. In BIB001 , a generic shape is converted into a foldable set of nearly-cubical parts. The printer can produce the object in its folded configuration which occupies a smaller volume, and thus might fit the printing chamber. Afterwards, the printed prototype can be unfolded into the desired shape.