Oriented 3D Printing

Abstract

<p> Ink-jet printing onto flat paper is a widely established process. In this thesis, we make extensions to printing on target surfaces such as metals and glass, using a 5-axis orientable head. Original artwork is created using CAD, and is sampled to create the ink jet point cloud. The target surface location is registered using a standard Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) 5-axis touch trigger probe. The probe is then replaced with the ink jet head and the printing process is carried out. Demonstration of the system is illustrated using flat metal and glass samples, as well as rapid prototyped 3-D plastic shapes.</p>