VOXEL MODELING FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

Hoetzlein, R. 3D Printing with NVIDIA GVDB Voxels.GPU Technology Conference (GTC) 2017. Santa Clara, CA

Abstract

Additive manufacturing is rapidly growing to meet the need for customized, lightweight, design optimized parts which cannot be created by traditional methods. Whereas the most common workflow for 3D printing takes polygonal models as input (stl), voxel modeling enables rapid iteration with complex processes. Processes enabled by voxels include stress-strain analysis, weight measurement, organic infilling, and printing with multiple materials.

Presented at GPU Technology Conference 2017 (GTC), this talk demonstrates a prototype workflow in which a polygonal model is voxelized. Stress-strain analysis was performed independently by HP Labs, producing a density field of the desired part strength. Voxel modeling with NVIDIA(R) GVDB Voxels was then used to interactively produce a Voronoi in-filling structure that meets those strength requirements with an organic structure that changes density. Direct raytracing of the volumetric model is performed interactively with multiple materials, shadows and scattering, all without polygons.