[suggestion] Varying density lattice examples/tools
ES-Alexander opened this issue · 1 comments
Could be used for things like
- gradient infill (rectilinear example)
- microwave lenses (gyroid example)
A good starting point would just be radial density variation, but from there it could be expanded to follow an arbitrary 2D (XY) vector field, then a 3D vector field and/or clustering around particular points or edges.
This is a super interesting concept - we had a really technical research study on achieving this
I've created a gist as a demo where a 3D greyscale voxel model is generated and used to indicate the required density at any point in the 3D model. This voxel data is used to control extrusion width in a simple toolpath to allow infil density to change continuously from 40% to 100%, with the same toolpath every layer, meaning perfect bonding between layers, no weird half unit cells (common in the conventional approach where cell size is changed to achieve density changes). Although this toolpath is simple, the concept would be no more complicated to implement in any kind of toolpath, as long as it's segmented to match the resolution of the density voxel model. Super neat!
This kind of work fits into a wider aim to get automated filling of outline shapes. Being careful not to just become another slicer, but maintain the benefits and value of of 'full control'.