Computational thermoforming

Chris Ellerby

This new method of "computational thermoforming" is amazing.  Basically they determine how a flat textural image would be distorted during the thermoforming (aka vacuum forming) process and distort the image so that, when stretched over the form, the texture properly maps to the three dimensional shape.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFkVxurKeAs

Quote:

We propose a method to fabricate textured 3D models using thermoforming. Differently from industrial techniques, which target mass production of a specific shape, we propose a combined hardware and software solution to manufacture customized, unique objects. Our method simulates the forming process and converts the texture of a given digital 3D model into a pre-distorted image that we transfer onto a plastic sheet. During thermoforming, the sheet deforms to create a faithful physical replica of the digital model. Our hardware setup uses off-the-shelf components and can be calibrated with an automatic algorithm that extracts the simulation parameters from a single calibration object produced by the same process.

Amazing stuff!

/Chris