Development in computer aided design (CAD), finite element
analysis (FEA), finite boundary methods (FBM) and geometric modelling
have allowed for complex designs to be realized, minimizing redesign and
analysis at early stages of product development life cycle. However,
having a 3D prototype “part-in-hand” at the early stages of
product development bridges the gap between design and
... [Show full abstract] manufacturing.
This helps to realize abstract design features easily. Rapid prototyping
has emerged as one of the forefront accepted means for producing
“show-and-tell” and “touch-and-feel” models,
that has gained the term desktop manufacturing, free form manufacturing
etc. This paper looks into an important area of slicing CAD models,
where a true representation of curves, surfaces can be generated from
the approximated polygon representation in CAD models. Current rapid
prototyping techniques have drawbacks due to “stair-case”
effect. The technique described in this paper has drastically improved
the quality of surface. A brief introduction to rapid prototyping
principles, the concept of `layer-by-layer' manufacturing, effect of
curvature, algorithms for true curve representation, implementation and
rapid prototype part finishing are discussed in this paper