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TF-Cells (2021)
Proceeding of DIS 2021
Designing Metamaterial Cells to Enrich Thermoforming 3D Printed Object for Post-Print Modification
In this paper, we present a metamaterial structure called thermoformable cells, TF-Cells, to enrich thermoforming for post-print modification. So far, thermoforming is limitedly applied for modifying a 3D printed object due to its low thermal conductivity. TF-Cells consists of beam arrays that affluently pass hot air and have high heat transference. Through heating the embedded TF-Cells of the printed object, users can modify not only the deeper area of the object surface but also its form factor. With a series of technical experiments, we investigated TF-Cells’ thermoformability, depending on their structure’s parameters, orientations, and heating conditions. Next, we present a series of compound cells consisting of TF-Cells and solid structure to adjust stiffness or reduce undesirable shape deformation. Adapting the results from the experiments, we built a simple tool for embedding TF-Cells into a 3D model. Using the tool, we implemented examples under contexts of mechanical fitting, ergonomic fitting, and aesthetic tuning.
![스크린샷 2022-08-16 오후 2.29.56.png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/df1f48_10e5e267b7fc4cc5a1252a23d86852c4~mv2.png/v1/crop/x_0,y_0,w_1384,h_700/fill/w_890,h_450,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/%EC%8A%A4%ED%81%AC%EB%A6%B0%EC%83%B7%202022-08-16%20%EC%98%A4%ED%9B%84%202_29_56.png)
Thermoforming through TF-Cells for modifying a surface:
(a) stamping fow pattern, (b) ftting a 3D-printed object to a pipe, and (c) ftting a bolt to a 3D-printed object
![스크린샷 2022-08-16 오후 2.32.11.png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/df1f48_58d5357763494f8786ca86f0cf7a5c6c~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_891,h_313,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/%EC%8A%A4%ED%81%AC%EB%A6%B0%EC%83%B7%202022-08-16%20%EC%98%A4%ED%9B%84%202_32_11.png)
Application examples: (a) three-way joint, (b) glasses, (c) screw gripper, (d) peace hand gesture
![스크린샷 2022-08-16 오후 2.32.00.png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/df1f48_2f72a3597d1747799e9b91ff3dcb126a~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_881,h_329,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/%EC%8A%A4%ED%81%AC%EB%A6%B0%EC%83%B7%202022-08-16%20%EC%98%A4%ED%9B%84%202_32_00.png)
Design tool:
(a) setting base 3D model and a target region, (b) setting TF-Cells characteristics, (c) the cellembedded model
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