VEGA: A Geometry-Aware Enveloping Layer-Based Path Planning Strategy for Accurate Robotic 3D Printing
Won Bin Choi, Wan Kyun Chung
AI summary
Problem
Conventional planar and non-planar slicing strategies in robotic additive manufacturing introduce staircase and stacking artifacts, preventing accurate reproduction of complex 3D geometries.
Approach
The authors propose VEGA, which generates geometry-aware enveloping layers through an iterative buffering-erosion process, using a Buffer Restraint Region to control layer positioning and a printability filter to ensure feasible toolpaths.
Key results
- Reduces volumetric error by 68.5% compared to planar slicing
- Lowers surface deviation by 69.1% and chamfer distance by 77.9%
- Maintains fast computation (~32 seconds per model) with no increase in print length
- Successfully prints complex planar and non-planar geometries using a custom 5-DoF robotic extruder
Why it matters
Provides a practical, artifact-mitigating path planning strategy for robotic additive manufacturing, enabling high-fidelity fabrication of complex designs in biomedical, aerospace, and architectural applications.
Abstract
Additive manufacturing offers extensive design freedom but remains limited by path planning strategies that rely on planar slicing, which introduce staircase artifacts. Non- planar slicing improves local fidelity yet still produces stacking artifacts due to exposed layer boundaries, leaving a gap in capturing complex geometries. This work proposes a Volu- metric Envelope Generation Algorithm (VEGA) that generates geometry-aware enveloping layers through a buffering-erosion process. By introducing a Buffer Restraint Region (BRR), the method enables control over incorporation mode and layer positioning. Printability-based splitting further ensures feasible print paths for fabrication. Experiments were conducted on planar- and non-planar-base geometries, printed with a custom 3D printing robot. Printed models were scanned during evalu- ation, showing reductions of 68.5% in volumetric error, 69.1% in surface deviation, and 77.9% in chamfer distance relative to planar slicing, achieved without additional computational cost (≈32 s per model) or print length. These results demonstrate that enveloping-based path planning effectively mitigates arti- facts inherent to slicing-based approaches, providing a strategy for high-fidelity, reliable fabrication of complex geometries.