@article{9241, abstract = {Volumetric light transport is a pervasive physical phenomenon, and therefore its accurate simulation is important for a broad array of disciplines. While suitable mathematical models for computing the transport are now available, obtaining the necessary material parameters needed to drive such simulations is a challenging task: direct measurements of these parameters from material samples are seldom possible. Building on the inverse scattering paradigm, we present a novel measurement approach which indirectly infers the transport parameters from extrinsic observations of multiple-scattered radiance. The novelty of the proposed approach lies in replacing structured illumination with a structured reflector bonded to the sample, and a robust fitting procedure that largely compensates for potential systematic errors in the calibration of the setup. We show the feasibility of our approach by validating simulations of complex 3D compositions of the measured materials against physical prints, using photo-polymer resins. As presented in this paper, our technique yields colorspace data suitable for accurate appearance reproduction in the area of 3D printing. Beyond that, and without fundamental changes to the basic measurement methodology, it could equally well be used to obtain spectral measurements that are useful for other application areas.}, author = {Elek, Oskar and Zhang, Ran and Sumin, Denis and Myszkowski, Karol and Bickel, Bernd and Wilkie, Alexander and Křivánek, Jaroslav and Weyrich, Tim}, issn = {1094-4087}, journal = {Optics Express}, number = {5}, pages = {7568--7588}, publisher = {The Optical Society}, title = {{Robust and practical measurement of volume transport parameters in solid photo-polymer materials for 3D printing}}, doi = {10.1364/OE.406095}, volume = {29}, year = {2021}, } @article{9376, abstract = {This paper presents a method for designing planar multistable compliant structures. Given a sequence of desired stable states and the corresponding poses of the structure, we identify the topology and geometric realization of a mechanism—consisting of bars and joints—that is able to physically reproduce the desired multistable behavior. In order to solve this problem efficiently, we build on insights from minimally rigid graph theory to identify simple but effective topologies for the mechanism. We then optimize its geometric parameters, such as joint positions and bar lengths, to obtain correct transitions between the given poses. Simultaneously, we ensure adequate stability of each pose based on an effective approximate error metric related to the elastic energy Hessian of the bars in the mechanism. As demonstrated by our results, we obtain functional multistable mechanisms of manageable complexity that can be fabricated using 3D printing. Further, we evaluated the effectiveness of our method on a large number of examples in the simulation and fabricated several physical prototypes.}, author = {Zhang, Ran and Auzinger, Thomas and Bickel, Bernd}, issn = {1557-7368}, journal = {ACM Transactions on Graphics}, keywords = {multistability, mechanism, computational design, rigidity}, number = {5}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, title = {{Computational design of planar multistable compliant structures}}, doi = {10.1145/3453477}, volume = {40}, year = {2021}, } @phdthesis{8386, abstract = {Form versus function is a long-standing debate in various design-related fields, such as architecture as well as graphic and industrial design. A good design that balances form and function often requires considerable human effort and collaboration among experts from different professional fields. Computational design tools provide a new paradigm for designing functional objects. In computational design, form and function are represented as mathematical quantities, with the help of numerical and combinatorial algorithms, they can assist even novice users in designing versatile models that exhibit their desired functionality. This thesis presents three disparate research studies on the computational design of functional objects: The appearance of 3d print—we optimize the volumetric material distribution for faithfully replicating colored surface texture in 3d printing; the dynamic motion of mechanical structures— our design system helps the novice user to retarget various mechanical templates with different functionality to complex 3d shapes; and a more abstract functionality, multistability—our algorithm automatically generates models that exhibit multiple stable target poses. For each of these cases, our computational design tools not only ensure the functionality of the results but also permit the user aesthetic freedom over the form. Moreover, fabrication constraints were taken into account, which allow for the immediate creation of physical realization via 3D printing or laser cutting.}, author = {Zhang, Ran}, issn = {2663-337X}, pages = {148}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Structure-aware computational design and its application to 3D printable volume scattering, mechanism, and multistability}}, doi = {10.15479/AT:ISTA:8386}, year = {2020}, } @article{12, abstract = {Molding is a popular mass production method, in which the initial expenses for the mold are offset by the low per-unit production cost. However, the physical fabrication constraints of the molding technique commonly restrict the shape of moldable objects. For a complex shape, a decomposition of the object into moldable parts is a common strategy to address these constraints, with plastic model kits being a popular and illustrative example. However, conducting such a decomposition requires considerable expertise, and it depends on the technical aspects of the fabrication technique, as well as aesthetic considerations. We present an interactive technique to create such decompositions for two-piece molding, in which each part of the object is cast between two rigid mold pieces. Given the surface description of an object, we decompose its thin-shell equivalent into moldable parts by first performing a coarse decomposition and then utilizing an active contour model for the boundaries between individual parts. Formulated as an optimization problem, the movement of the contours is guided by an energy reflecting fabrication constraints to ensure the moldability of each part. Simultaneously, the user is provided with editing capabilities to enforce aesthetic guidelines. Our interactive interface provides control of the contour positions by allowing, for example, the alignment of part boundaries with object features. Our technique enables a novel workflow, as it empowers novice users to explore the design space, and it generates fabrication-ready two-piece molds that can be used either for casting or industrial injection molding of free-form objects.}, author = {Nakashima, Kazutaka and Auzinger, Thomas and Iarussi, Emmanuel and Zhang, Ran and Igarashi, Takeo and Bickel, Bernd}, journal = {ACM Transaction on Graphics}, number = {4}, publisher = {ACM}, title = {{CoreCavity: Interactive shell decomposition for fabrication with two-piece rigid molds}}, doi = {10.1145/3197517.3201341}, volume = {37}, year = {2018}, } @article{486, abstract = {Color texture reproduction in 3D printing commonly ignores volumetric light transport (cross-talk) between surface points on a 3D print. Such light diffusion leads to significant blur of details and color bleeding, and is particularly severe for highly translucent resin-based print materials. Given their widely varying scattering properties, this cross-talk between surface points strongly depends on the internal structure of the volume surrounding each surface point. Existing scattering-aware methods use simplified models for light diffusion, and often accept the visual blur as an immutable property of the print medium. In contrast, our work counteracts heterogeneous scattering to obtain the impression of a crisp albedo texture on top of the 3D print, by optimizing for a fully volumetric material distribution that preserves the target appearance. Our method employs an efficient numerical optimizer on top of a general Monte-Carlo simulation of heterogeneous scattering, supported by a practical calibration procedure to obtain scattering parameters from a given set of printer materials. Despite the inherent translucency of the medium, we reproduce detailed surface textures on 3D prints. We evaluate our system using a commercial, five-tone 3D print process and compare against the printer’s native color texturing mode, demonstrating that our method preserves high-frequency features well without having to compromise on color gamut.}, author = {Elek, Oskar and Sumin, Denis and Zhang, Ran and Weyrich, Tim and Myszkowski, Karol and Bickel, Bernd and Wilkie, Alexander and Krivanek, Jaroslav}, issn = {07300301}, journal = {ACM Transactions on Graphics}, number = {6}, publisher = {ACM}, title = {{Scattering-aware texture reproduction for 3D printing}}, doi = {10.1145/3130800.3130890}, volume = {36}, year = {2017}, } @inproceedings{1002, abstract = { We present an interactive design system to create functional mechanical objects. Our computational approach allows novice users to retarget an existing mechanical template to a user-specified input shape. Our proposed representation for a mechanical template encodes a parameterized mechanism, mechanical constraints that ensure a physically valid configuration, spatial relationships of mechanical parts to the user-provided shape, and functional constraints that specify an intended functionality. We provide an intuitive interface and optimization-in-the-loop approach for finding a valid configuration of the mechanism and the shape to ensure that higher-level functional goals are met. Our algorithm interactively optimizes the mechanism while the user manipulates the placement of mechanical components and the shape. Our system allows users to efficiently explore various design choices and to synthesize customized mechanical objects that can be fabricated with rapid prototyping technologies. We demonstrate the efficacy of our approach by retargeting various mechanical templates to different shapes and fabricating the resulting functional mechanical objects. }, author = {Zhang, Ran and Auzinger, Thomas and Ceylan, Duygu and Li, Wilmot and Bickel, Bernd}, issn = {07300301}, location = {Los Angeles, CA, United States }, number = {4}, publisher = {ACM}, title = {{Functionality-aware retargeting of mechanisms to 3D shapes}}, doi = {10.1145/3072959.3073710}, volume = {36}, year = {2017}, }