publications

2024

1. 

   OpenVCAD: An open source volumetric multi-material geometry compiler

   Charles Wade, Graham Williams, Sean Connelly, Braden Kopec, and Robert MacCurdy

   Additive Manufacturing, 2024

   Abs Bib PDF Code Website

   Modern additive manufacturing has made significant advancements in multi-material fabrication techniques that allow for position-specific control of material deposition. With these advancements, design tools have fallen behind machine capabilities in specifying volumetric information. Traditionally, design and fabrication workflows have expressed multi-material objects as several single-material bodies. By storing only the information about the surfaces of the geometries, information about the volumetric composition of the solids is unrepresented. The intense interest in compliant mechanisms and meta-materials demands a new design method that can support architecting material distribution throughout an object. To address these needs, we present OpenVCAD, an open-source volumetric design compiler with multi-material capabilities. OpenVCAD provides a scriptable suite of geometric and material design methods that enable efficient representation of object with complex geometry and material distributions. OpenVCAD allows functional specification of multi-material volumes that are parameterized on spatial locations, yielding complex multi-material distributions that would be impossible to describe using alternative methods. This paper will present the OpenVCAD pipeline, compare it to related work, and demonstrate its use through the design and manufacturing of functionally graded multi-material components.

   @article{OpenVCAD,
     title = {OpenVCAD: An open source volumetric multi-material geometry compiler},
     journal = {Additive Manufacturing},
     pages = {103912},
     year = {2024},
     issn = {2214-8604},
     doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2023.103912},
     url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214860423005250},
     author = {Wade, Charles and Williams, Graham and Connelly, Sean and Kopec, Braden and MacCurdy, Robert},
     keywords = {Volumetric design, Multi-material additive manufacturing, Meta-materials, Lattice-structures, InkJet 3D printing, Functional grading},
   }

2023

1. 

   Determining Optimal Print Orientation Using GPU-Accelerated Convex Hull Analysis

   Charles Wade, Breanne Crockett, Michael Borish, and Robert Maccurdy

   In Proceedings of the 8th ACM Symposium on Computational Fabrication, 2023

   Abs Bib PDF Code Slides

   In fused filament fabrication (FFF), the orientation of a part within the printer volume can dramatically affect print quality and probability of success. An object’s orientation determines how much support structure will be required and the strength of adhesion between the deposited material and the build surface. Selecting a part’s orientation is a non-trivial problem that users of FFF slicing software face routinely. Numerous part orientations need to be considered to find the best according to the results of the slicing process. This paper presents a method to automatically determine an optimal printing orientation for FFF that maximizes build-surface adhesion while minimizing the need for support structure. The algorithm considers the slicing angle and a configurable angle for overhang that requires supporting structure. By employing GPU acceleration and convex hull analysis to limit candidate orientations, the algorithm can run in real time as a preprocessing aid to users slicing parts.

   @inproceedings{10.1145/3623263.3623360,
     author = {Wade, Charles and Crockett, Breanne and Borish, Michael and Maccurdy, Robert},
     title = {Determining Optimal Print Orientation Using GPU-Accelerated Convex Hull Analysis},
     year = {2023},
     isbn = {9798400703195},
     publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
     address = {New York, NY, USA},
     url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3623263.3623360},
     doi = {10.1145/3623263.3623360},
     booktitle = {Proceedings of the 8th ACM Symposium on Computational Fabrication},
     articleno = {4},
     numpages = {9},
     keywords = {additive manufacturing, GPU acceleration, toolpath-planning, optimization, computer-aided design},
     location = {, New York City, NY, USA, },
     series = {SCF '23},
   }

2. 

   ORNL Slicer 2

   Alex Roschli, Michael Borish, Abigail Barnes, Charles Wade, Breanne Crockett, Liam White, and Cameron Adkins

   2023

   Bib Code Slides

   @misc{doecode_97742,
     title = {ORNL Slicer 2},
     journal = {Open Source Copyright},
     year = {2023},
     author = {Roschli, Alex and Borish, Michael and Barnes, Abigail and Wade, Charles and Crockett, Breanne and White, Liam and Adkins, Cameron},
     abstractnote = {ORNL Slicer 2 is a slicing program for additive manufacturing. It takes a solid body mesh object, typically as .STL file, and converts that into machine readable instructions, called g-code, that a 3D printer can use to build the object. The functionality includes loading and positioning an object, slicing it into layers, fitting toolpaths to the layers, and outputting g-code to construct the object. All of this is contained within a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows the user to define all of the settings specific to their machine and process, then preview the resultant g-code before starting the printing process.},
   }

3. Addit. Manuf.

   Load balancing for multi-beam additive manufacturing systems

   Benjamin C. Stump, Brian T. Gibson, Jay T. Reynolds, Charles Wade, Michael C. Borish, and Peter L. Wang

   Additive Manufacturing, 2023

   Abs Bib PDF

   As powder bed fusion (PBF) additive manufacturing (AM) becomes a more mature field, system configurations are gradually moving away from the classic single heat source, layer-by-layer system configurations towards unconventional system configurations that offer higher throughput. Higher throughput systems allow PBF systems to be considered for a larger variety of industrial applications. However, the inclusion of multiple heat sources, or beams, also increases the complexity of the control schemes needed. For multi-beam systems with overlapping fields of view, the distribution of workload, or load balancing, across these beams directly affects the total print time for a build. Additionally, the probability of any beam failing in a multi-beam system increases with the number of beams. While manual methods of load balancing and dealing with beam failures are reasonable for current generation multi-beam systems, as system configurations become more complex, manual methods will become prohibitively inefficient. This paper introduces two different ways to load balance multi-beam systems of various configuration types, regardless of their complexity, which are highly performant. A consequence of this performance is the enablement of on-the-fly load balancing in the event a beam fails, thus improving system robustness.

   @article{STUMP2023103708,
     title = {Load balancing for multi-beam additive manufacturing systems},
     journal = {Additive Manufacturing},
     pages = {103708},
     year = {2023},
     issn = {2214-8604},
     doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2023.103708},
     url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214860423003214},
     author = {Stump, Benjamin C. and Gibson, Brian T. and Reynolds, Jay T. and Wade, Charles and Borish, Michael C. and Wang, Peter L.},
     keywords = {Load balancing, Additive manufacturing, Optimization},
   }

2022

1. 

   Hybrid Curve Fitting for Reducing Motion Commands in Object Construction

   Charles Wade, and Michael Borish

   In 2022 International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium, 2022

   Bib PDF

   @inproceedings{wade2022hybrid,
     title = {Hybrid Curve Fitting for Reducing Motion Commands in Object Construction},
     author = {Wade, Charles and Borish, Michael},
     booktitle = {2022 International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium},
     year = {2022},
   }

2021

1. 

   A GPU-based Approach for Path Planning Optimization via Travel Length Reduction

   Michael Borish, and Charles Wade

   Procedia Manufacturing, 2021

   Bib PDF

   @article{borish2021gpu,
     title = {A GPU-based Approach for Path Planning Optimization via Travel Length Reduction},
     author = {Borish, Michael and Wade, Charles},
     journal = {Procedia Manufacturing},
     volume = {53},
     pages = {310--317},
     year = {2021},
     publisher = {Elsevier},
   }

2019

1. 

   Low Cost Remote Algae Detection Utilizing Embedded Hardware, Custom Sensors, and Additive Manufacturing

   Charles Wade, and Teran M. Ericksen

   Proceedings of The National Conference on Undergraduate Research, 2019

   Bib PDF Slides

   @article{wade2019low,
     title = {Low Cost Remote Algae Detection Utilizing Embedded Hardware, Custom Sensors, and Additive Manufacturing},
     author = {Wade, Charles and Ericksen, Teran M.},
     journal = {Proceedings of The National Conference on Undergraduate Research},
     year = {2019},
   }