As much as we’d like to believe it to be, 3D printing is not a form of alchemy capable of materialising anything. As more complex printing tasks have been put forward, more problems have been experienced. The solution to these problems has been discovered by researchers from Fuji Xerox and Keio University. They have developed a brand new method of 3D printing that relies on voxels instead of the standard polygon-based method. The new method allows for retention of more complex details of the material like internal structure, colour, material and connection strength; this information could not be represented when using the polygon method. The previous polygon-based method of printing was only able to store date regarding the selected item’s surfaces. This meant that parts of an item consisting of different materials or different colours were constructed at different times and then compiled, making the process time and cost inefficient.
The introduced Fabricatable Voxel (FAV) method relies on voxels, which are essentially the three dimensional forms of pixels. Information can be assigned to each voxel separately. The new FAV method of printing results in easier printing of complex items.
This revolutionary method is to be released soon and the company is aiming to make this method the standard for professional 3D printing environments. This breakthrough could very much give 3D printing the status of “sorcery” that we all wish for it to have.
3D Printing surely possesses a great future, the prospect of this technology reaching the multi-billion field, a large number of small and large scale firms have started believing it to become a genuine jackpot contender in the near future. To get yourself started, this wouldn’t be a bad, but an ideal time to step into the mix!