Influence of Tomographic Slice Thickness and Field of View Variation on the Reproduction of Thin Bone Structures for Rapid Prototyping Purposes-An in Vitro Study

This study assessed the influence of acquisition parameters of tomographic volumes on the reproduction of thin bone structures for rapid prototyping purposes. Two parameters were investigated: Field of View (FOV) and Slice Thickness (ST). The specimen was comprised of five pairs of 0.6 mm, 1.1 mm, 1.5 mm, 2.0 mm and 2.8 mm thick cortical bone plates. The plates were stuck into utility wax;the first plate of the pair was in vertical position while the second plate was oblique to the first one. Forty-five tomographic images were captured and separated into 3 groups of fifteen images. Each group had a specific FOV: 180 mm;250 mm and 430 mm, respectively. Within each of these three groups, tomographic slice thickness was varied for every five of the fifteen slices. Acquisitions were carried out with STs of 1 mm, 2.5 mm and 5 mm. The Cyclops Medical Station software was used in the voxel-to-voxel analysis of radiologic density, reaching a total of 1350 assessed images. ST and FOV variation influenced the reproduction of thin bone walls, and FOV was shown to be a very important parameter. The larger the acquisition FOV, the more reduction in the number of voxels within the range of reconstruction for cortical bone in all of the bone plates. The visual analysis of the images of very thin bone walls showed that there could be a sharp drop in the radiologic density value in several adjacent voxels, resulting in areas which might not be reproduced in the reconstruction.

Development of a welding system for 3D steel rapid prototyping process

Metal device rapid prototyping with welding is one of the research interests at present. A controlled inertial droplet transfer MAG welding (CIDTMAGW) process was developed for the 3D steel device rapid prototyping with metal deposition. In this process, by using a special designed wire feeder, a controlled inertia is imposed on the droplet formed on the wire tip and combines with the arc force to make it detached. Thus, according to the requirements of rapid prototyping, the arc heat and the droplet detaching force can be separately controlled to attain a stable and satisfactory metal deposition process. A CIDTMAGW system and a testing manipulator for the 3D steel device rapid prototyping are presented. The required software is completed as well. The experiments proved that the geometric formation of the rapid prototyping device with welding deposition is well agreed the data of the device CAD modeling. The surface of the deposited device is comparatively smooth.

Effects of processing parameters on figuration during the GMAW rapid prototyping process

As a deposition technology, gas metal arc welding （GMAW） has shown new promise for rapid prototyping of metallic parts. During the process of metal forming using the arc of GMA W, low heat input and stable droplet transition are critical to high quality figuration. The effects of various processing parameters on figuration quality were studied in the experiment of GMA W rapid prototyping using the wire of ERSO-6 , including welding voltage, wire feeding rate, welding speed and so on. The optimal parameters for ERSO-6 are obtained. Simultaneously, it is verified that the rapid prototyping parts with favorable structures and quality can be achieved under the conditions of low heat input and stable droplet transition.

Modeling and simulation of ocean mining subsystem based on virtual prototyping technology

According to the virtual prototyping technology and the theory of dynamics of multi-rigid-body system, a virtual prototyping of ocean mining vehicle was constructed by using 3-dimensional entity modeling software ((Pro/E),) automatic dynamic analysis of mechanical systems(ADAMS) and advanced visual software(AVS). After 32 new modules were developed with C++ at AVS platform, the interface problems of the 3 types of software were solved effectively and a visual environment for ocean mining subsystem was constructed. Based on the similarity (theory) and similarity experiments, the validity and reliability of the virtual prototyping were verified. By using the (constructed) virtual prototyping, the relevant parameters, such as cutting depth, rotation speed of roller,marching speed of mining vehicle can be adjusted one by one. After repeatable virtual tests and analysis its corresponding dynamic characteristics, the structure parameter of mining vehicle and the parameter of mining process can be optimized fast and accurately. The experiment and simulation results show that, under the controlled mining parameters, 4 function expressions between the average force of single pick,average torque,average cutting power,energy consumption ratio and cutting depth are obtained. The maximum force of a single pick is less than (11090N) and the maximum torque of the roller is less than 3600N·m.

Computing the Intersection of a Plane and Geometric Primitives in VRML Model for Rapid Prototyping Software

VRML(Virtual Reality Modeling Language)format as an international standard for virtual reality,has al- ready been widely adopted for graphical representation of 3D objects over the Web.Adopting VRML model in RP(Rapid Prototyp- ing)can reduce the precision loss which is caused by triangulation in generating STL file.Hence exploring a slicing method and de- veloping a slicing software for VRML model is important and significant to improve the accuracy of RP products.Finding inter- sections of a plane and VRML model is the key operation in slicing algorithm.This paper presents a method for calculating the in- tersections between a set of parallel planes and VRML geometric primitives.Based on the analysis of the relative position between a plane and a geometric primitive,intersection conditions in all cases were obtained,and the geometric parameters and corresponding equations of intersections were derived.The algorithm had been tested,and applications show that it is robust and effective.

Control Performance Evaluation of Serial Urology Manipulator by Virtual Prototyping

Prostatic hyperplasia and tumor are common diseases,and the minimally invasive surgery inserting the instruments through the urethra into the prostate is commonly conducted.Taking the robotic manipulator for such surgery into consideration,this paper analyses the workspace of the end effector,and proposes the distribution error of the fixed point and the tracking error of manipulator end effector on the cone bottom surface of the workspace as the basis for control implementation of the manipulator.The D-H coordinate system of the manipulator is established and the trajectory planning of the end effector in the Cartesian space is carried out.The digital model was established,and dynamics simulation was performed in Solidworks and Matlab/Simulink environment to guide the manipulator design.Trajectory mapping and synchronization control between virtual model and the actual manipulator are realized based on digital twin technique.The virtual manipulator can reflect the real-time state of the manipulator with data interaction by comparing the dynamics simulation results with the motor current values obtained by experiment.Experiment was carried out with PD feedback control and Newton-Euler dynamics based feedforward control to get the trajectory tracking characteristic of each motor,errors of the fixed point and tracking performance of the end effector of the manipulator.The results show that compared with PD feedback control,feed forward control implementation can achieve a reduction of 30.0%in the average error of the fixed point of the manipulator and a reduction of 33.3%in the maximum error.

Simulation and Optimization of Amplitude-adjusting Performance of Crane with Virtual Prototyping Technology

In the design of crane,designers often have to study the trajectory of amplitude-adjusting of crane.The tradition- al methods,illustration and analytics both show their limits.In this paper,the simulation of process of amplitude-adjusting is presented and the optimization is also performed with virtual prototyping technology.From the comparison of original solution and optimal solution,the effectiveness of this technique is testified.On the platform ADAMS/View,the interactive optimization can be performed in a visual,intuitive and credible way,which deserves to be introduced to the design of crane.

Jet electrodeposition oriented by rapid prototyping

The system components and the theory of jet electrodeposition orientated by rapid prototyping (RP) were introduced. The nanocrystalline copper parts with simple shape were fabricated by this rapid prototyping technology. The microstructure evolution of the nanocrystalline copper layer was examined by means of the scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The results show that the jet electrodeposition can greatly enhance the limited current density, fine crystalline particles and improve deposition quality. The copper deposited layers have nanocrystalline microstructure with average size of 55.6nm. The grain size decreases to 41.4nm on crystal plane (311).

Finite element analysis of temperature field during multi-layer multi-pass weld-based rapid prototyping

During weld-bused rapid prototyping, the component experiences complex thermal process. In this paper, the temperature field evolution, thermal cycle characteristics, and temperature gradients of multi-layer multi-puss weld-based rapid prototyping are investigated using three-dimensional finite element models presented. The single-puss weld-bused rapid prototyping experiment is carried out. Thermal cycles calculated agree with experimental measurements. Furthermore, simulated results indicate that there exist the pre-heating effect of the fore layer and the post-heating effect of the rear layer in the multi-layer multi-pass weld-based rapid prototyping. In the first layer, the heat accumulates obviously. After the first layer, the dimension increase of the high temperature region behind the molten pool is not obvious. The heat diffusion condition in the first layer is the best, the heat diffusion condition in the second layer is the worst, and the heat diffusion conditions in the higher layers improve gradually.

On-line detection system of weld-based rapid prototyping process based on structured light

In order to realize the closed-loop control for rapid prototyping process based on gas metal arc welding, the geometric parameters of weld beads should be detected. In this study, a vision sensor system consisting of a linear laser projector and a CCD camera was designed to collect images of weld beads. Then, an image processing approach which combines with a Gaassian filter and an improved gravity method was used to extract the centerline of a light stripe based on VC ＋＋. Feature points of the centerline were identical directly by means of an image fusion algorithm. Experimental results show that image fusion is an effective approach to measure the width and height of the weld bead with high accuracy. This method can identify beads effectively in multi-pass welding and avoid designing different modes to suit all kinds of shapes.

Modeling of welded bead profile for rapid prototyping by robotic MAG welding

As a deposition technology, robotic metal active gas （MAG） welding has shown new promise for rapid prototyping （ RP） of metallic parts. During the process of metal forming using robotic MAG welding, sectional profile of single-puss welded bead is critical to formed accuracy and quality of metal pans. In this paper, the experiments of single-pass welded bead for rapid prototyping using robotic MAG welding were carried out. The effect of some edge detectors on the cross-sectional edge of welded bead was discussed and curve fitting was applied using least square fitting. Consequently, the mathematical model of welded bead profile was developed. The experimental results show that good shape could be obtained under suitable welding parameters. Canny operator is suitable to edge detection of welded bead profile, and the mathematical model of welded bead profile developed is approximately parabola.

A Photo-Modeling Approach to Restituting 3D Model Data from Single 2D Imagery for Rapid Prototyping of Artifact Products

This article first generalizes the basic engineering phases of modern rapid prototyping processes, and then describes the techniques of data capture for data modeling and model making. The article also provides a brief overview of the photogrametric techniques of restitution of 3D objects, and highlights the difficulties and limitations of existing methods. It therefore presents a novel approach to photo-modeling for acquiring 3D model data from single 2D photorealistic images. Implementation of the approach is then described against a effectiveness of photo-modeling practice. background of rapid prototyping processes to demonstrate the

3D Nanocomposite Hydrogel Scaffolds Fabricated by Rapid Prototyping for Bone Tissue Engineering

Colloidal gels made of oppositely charged nanoparticles are a novel class of hydrogels and can exhibit pseudoplastic behavior which will enable them to mold easily into specific shapes.These moldable gels can be used as building blocks to self-assemble into integral scaffolds from bottom to up through electrostatic forces.However,they are too weak to maintain scaffold morphology just depending on interparticle interactions such as Van der Waals attraction and electrostatic forces especially for bone tissue engineering.In this study,oppositely charged gelatin nanoparticles were firstly prepared by two-step desolvation method,followed by the mixture with water to form colloid gels.To solve the problem of weak mechanical performance of colloid gels, gelatin macromolecules were introduced into the prepared gels to form blend gels.The blend gels can be easily processed into three-dimensional( 3D) porous scaffolds via motor assisted microsyringe( MAM)system,a nozzle-based rapid prototyping technology,under mild conditions.After fabrication the scaffolds were crosslinked by glutaraldehyde( GA,25% solution in water by weight),then the crosslinked gelatin macromolecules network could form to improve the mechanical properties of colloid gels.The average particle size and zeta potential of gelatin nanoparticles were measured by NanoZS instrument.The morphology and microstructures of scaffolds were characterized by macroscopic images.The mechanical properties of the scaffolds were studied by a universal material testing machine.

Study on Control of Pneumatic Selecting and Shifting Actuators Using Rapid Control Prototyping

A gearbox in-the-loop control platform using dSPACE real-time system is designed for the study on the control technology of pneumatic selecting and shifting actuators based on rapid control prototyping.The operational principle of such actuators was analyzed using dSPACE hardware and software,resulting in a better knowledge of the logical relationship among solenoid valves,gear positions of cylinders and system input/output.Based on these,a control model was developed under the Matlab/Simulink environment and rapidly improved to meet requirements through experiments.Relevant tests have shown that analysis efficiency on selecting and shifting actuators could be raised and development of control strategy facilitated.

3D Flash Display for STL Model in Rapid Prototyping System

A kind of 3D color graphics display system for the STL model is developed by calling the functions from Open GL graphic library through VC++6.0 under the Windows environment in this paper. The STL model is a high quality one that can be quiescent or animated. This system is conducive to find out the disfigurement of the STL model in a rapid prototyping process and to repair it. Therefore, the component quality can be enhanced.

Design and Fabrication of Manual Bone Scaffolds via Rapid Prototyping

Biomaterials,β-TCP (β-tricalcium phosphate),and polymeric blends were used on a selective laser sintering (SLS) system,a kind of rapid prototyping machine,to produce some scaffold specimens which were designed with CAD (Computer Aided Design) software according to bone tissue engineering scaffold characteristics and properties. The scaffolds were produced with a pore size 800μm,and regular geometrical cylinder or sphere pores,depending on the processing. Then the specimens were treated by high temperature to assess their suitability on SLS processing. Their microstructures which had been investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) exhibited fully interconnected pore which had a range size 500-800μm. X-ray diffraction analysis performed after high temperature treatment showed that β-TCP did not change. The porosity checked was about 71.29%. And the treated scaffolds could be provided an inter-connective network for the circulation of tissue fluid and hence sped up osteogenesis.

Development of a Special Machine Rotating Cutter Based on Virtual Prototyping

We first describe the fundamental concept of virtual prototyping（ VP ） technology and discuss the differences among VP, computer aided design, computer aided engineering and computer aided manufacture. Then we present the application flow of virtual prototyping technology to the development of mechanical products. Based on ADAMS/VIEW, a new kind of special machine rotating cutter has been developed. The simulation results show that the rotating cutter meets the design requirements. It is concluded that virtual prototyping technology is quite valuable in designing and manufacturing mechanical product.

Research on Nanofabrication Technology of Micro-/Nano-Stereo Rapid Prototyping of PCVD

At present, the most common micro/nano-scale fabri ca tion processes include the plane silicon process based on IC technology, stereo silicon process, LIGA, quasi-LIGA based on near ultra violet deep lithography, MEMS, energy beam etching and micro/nano-machining, etc. A common problem for t hese processes is the difficulty to fabricate arbitrary form for 3-dimensional micro/nano-parts, devices or mechanisms. To develop advanced MEMS manufacturin g technology, and to achieve fabrication of true 3-dimensional parts, devices or mechanisms, this paper proposes a nanofabrication technology for rapid proto typing of 3-dimensional parts, using plasma chemical vapor deposition (PCVD). This process can be describes as follows: A laser beam is produced by a low power, quasi molecule laser. It enters the vac uum chamber through a window, and is focused on with the substrate surface. A ga s in the chamber is ionized by the laser beam to produce PCVD on the substrate s urface, and forms a particle of the size of Ф100 nm (its thickness is about 100 nm). When the laser beam moves along X-axis, many particles form a line. Then the laser beam moves one step in Y-axis to form a new line. A plane is complete d by many lines. Then the substrate moves in Z-axis to form new plane. Eventu ally, many planes form a 3-dimensional component. Using available CAD/CAM softw are with this process, rapid prototyping of complex components can be achieved. A nanometer precision linear motor, such as that described in Chinese national p atent (patent No. ZL 98 2 16753.9), can be used to obtain the nanometer precisio n movements in the process. The process does not require mask, can be used for v arious rapid prototyping materials, to obtain high fabrication precision (its sc ale precision is 15 nm), and larger ratio of height to width of micro/nano-stru cture. It can find widespread applications in the fabrication of micro-mechani sm, trimming IC, and fabricating minilens, etc.

Robustness optimization for rapid prototyping of functional artifacts based on visualized computing digital twins

This study presents a robustness optimization method for rapid prototyping(RP)of functional artifacts based on visualized computing digital twins(VCDT).A generalized multiobjective robustness optimization model for RP of scheme design prototype was first built,where thermal,structural,and multidisciplinary knowledge could be integrated for visualization.To implement visualized computing,the membership function of fuzzy decision-making was optimized using a genetic algorithm.Transient thermodynamic,structural statics,and flow field analyses were conducted,especially for glass fiber composite materials,which have the characteristics of high strength,corrosion resistance,temperature resistance,dimensional stability,and electrical insulation.An electrothermal experiment was performed by measuring the temperature and changes in temperature during RP.Infrared thermographs were obtained using thermal field measurements to determine the temperature distribution.A numerical analysis of a lightweight ribbed ergonomic artifact is presented to illustrate the VCDT.Moreover,manufacturability was verified based on a thermal-solid coupled finite element analysis.The physical experiment and practice proved that the proposed VCDT provided a robust design paradigm for a layered RP between the steady balance of electrothermal regulation and manufacturing efficacy under hybrid uncertainties.

Principle and Feasibility of Electric or Magnetic Field Deflection-Projection Based Rapid Prototyping Technique

Rapid prototype manufacturing(RPM) is a new advanced manufacturing technology, which is based on the philosophy of materials increasing of lay by lay forming. Zero adventure rapid design/manufacturing can be realized with rapid prototypes of 3D CAD of products. Rapid prototyping has been an effective tool of R&D of new products. A novel rapid prototyping and manufacturing (RP&M) technique is brought forward. The principle of the process is to form layered sections and to make the prototype or part layer by layer by deflection projection of electric charged powder granules passing through electric or magnetic field and by controllable line and field scan of the powder granule beam. The feasibility issue of the process is theoretically and experimentally investigated.It shows that deflection projection of electric charged powder granules beam passing through electric field can be significant and feasible to the rapid prototyping technique.