A Design and Post-processing System for Local Composition Control in Solid Freeform Fabrication

This article addresses the central impediment to the wide-spread exploration of the potential of Local Composition Control (LCC) in Solid Freeform Fabrication (SFF), and presents a Feature-Based Design (FBD) approach for modeling complex components with LCC. The approach will allow the designer to simultaneously edit geometry and composition until a satisfactory result is attained. The concise and machine-general procedural representation will be maintained throughout the design process and will be evaluated for the purpose of visual feedback to the designer and for post-processing, i.e., the creation of machine-specific instructions for fabrication.