Bézier Curves
Problem ‐ Melting curved lines
The traditional approach to electron beam powder bed fusion (E-PBF) is to perform line melting ‐ traversing the electron beam in straight lines over the build area. However, this method often leads to limitations in design flexibility, as it restricts the potential for curved geometries in additive manufacturing processes. Researchers and developers often encounter challenges when trying to produce complex parts with intricate curved features using the conventional line melting technique. This is especially important when it is important to be able to mathematically describe the geometry of the parts: the approximation of line melting might just not be good enough.
Solution ‐ Curve melting with Bézier curves
In response to the limitations of line melting, Freemelt has implemented a solution ‐ curve melting using Bézier curves. Bézier curves are widely known for their ease of use and mathematical elegance, which makes them an ideal choice for incorporating curves into additive manufacturing processes.
Advantages of Bézier curves:
1.Ease of use: Bézier curves are simple to manipulate and control, allowing for straightforward implementation in the additive manufacturing workflow.
2. Low storage requirements: The compact representation of Bézier curves requires minimal storage, making it efficient for large‐scale manufacturing processes.
3. Guaranteed smoothness: Bézier curves ensure continuous and smooth trajectories, resulting in high‐quality parts with reduced surface defects.
4. Suitability to heating ProHeat® plate: Bézier curves can easily and accurately model circles, a useful pattern with which to heat the patented ProHeat® plate.
Curve melting with obplib
To facilitate curve melting, Freemelt has developed obplib, a Python library for creating .obp build files. It supports cubic Bézier curves, defined by four control points: the start and end points, along with two points controlling the curvature of the line between them. With support for constant velocity and accelerating curve melting, obplib offers a versatile toolset for creating complex geometries with exceptional precision. Because of Freemelt’s open source philosophy, the user can precisely control the entire curve melting process, including the beam parameters and the trajectory of the line. Research and development is much easier when all variables are in the hands of the user.
Conclusion
The ability to incorporate curves in additive manufacturing opens up new possibilities for designers and engineers. Curved line melting can allow for smoother surfaces, improved structural integrity, and reduced stress concentration, making them crucial for developing high‐performance components. Thanks to Freemelt’s obplib, researchers can now easily melt curves directly, instead of approximating them with straight line melting. This means superior control and customizability for the user, accelerating development and improving productivity. To learn how to create curved lines using obplib, have a look at Freemelt’s step‐by‐step guide found here.
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2023-11-01 14:12:18