Rule-based free-form deformation for additive layer manufacturing

Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) provides manufacturing of nearly arbitrary geometries flexibly and economically. The part properties, which are reachable by state-of-the-art systems, are able to fulfill the customer requirements in terms of series and spare part production. Nevertheless, there still arise problems prohibiting the prevalent application of those techniques. The presented approach focuses on a rule-based Free-Form Deformation (FFD) for ALM. The machine is characterized by a set of rules, which is identified through observable properties extracted from precedent building processes. Adapting and applying the FFD algorithm, a pre-deformation of desired geometries based on exclusively geometric rules is achieved. Using an exclusively geometric deformation technique, CAD data is deformed before manufacturing to provide higher part quality by considering the unique characteristic of a machine.