Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
For example, solid modeling software suffers from the fact that its standard
library of primitive shapes can't always be tweaked and edited into irregular
geometries. A 3D printer, however, can fabricate unusual and irregular shapes
that traditional manufacturing machines could not. Therefore, a lot of design
potential remains left on the table. Solid modeling software isn't capable of
meeting the demands of this new and largely untapped design space. As 3D
printing technologies continue to improve, traditional solid modeling will
become out of date, a powerful but somewhat crude design tool.
The surface modeling software used by animators and video game design-
ers shares a similar limitation, namely the absence of design data to describe
an object's insides. If you were to design and attempt to 3D print a color-
ful and elaborately shaped teapot covered with amusing illustrations, the
printed teapot might look great on the outside, but would not be functional.
Because your design ile didn't specify the shape of the inner cavity of the
teapot, nor that its spout needed to be hollow and its lid to it tightly yet
come off, your 3D printed teapot would lack any sort of inner structure and
would not be usable.
Even the most highly detailed, well designed 3D graphics designs can't
guide a 3D printer through the process of printing anything below the surface.
Given where surface modeling software got its start, this limitation makes
sense. Cartoon animators never needed to 3D print their “design iles.” Some
specialized software is available that can “guesstimate” the shape of what lies
under the surface and ill in the missing details, but that process is often prone
to errors and frustrations.
Printing beneath the surface is just one challenge. Another challenge lies
in the fact that 3D printing technology is capable of fabricating objects so
complicated their design involves more data points than even present-day
computing power can handle. For example, imagine that you wanted to design
and 3D print a shirt composed of millions of tiny links made of a blend of
plastics—some hard and some soft. The completed printed fabric would be
elastic in feel to conform precisely to your body.
With a solid modeling program, you would ind deining a single ring of
chain mail to be quick and easy. However, making and interlocking millions of
these tiny rings would be extremely tedious and time-consuming. If you had to
specify a different plastic for each speciic chain mail link, the computer system
would be brought to its knees. Even if a computer could keep track of all the
 
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