Techniques for Improved Speed and Accuracy in Layered Manufacturing

The ability to improve the construction accuracy and/or the build speed for layered manufacturing techniques is demonstrated using a series of new techniques: (1) Parts can be decomposed into sections which are constructed in parallel and then assembled. This reduced the build time and material waste for a sheet foam process. (2) A more accurate interface based on direct slicing ofthe CAD model can be used to eliminate the need for the intermediary tessellation file. (3) The layer thickness can be adapted based on the part's geometric complexity to increase the surface quality, build speed, and z-axis accuracy.