InSPIREd - Advances in Conformal Printing: 3D Printing onto Unknown Uneven Surfaces

The term Conformal Printing refers to 3D printing onto uneven surfaces. Whilst some very high priced solutions exist for known uneven surfaces, where the toolpath is generated in advance, based on CAD data of the object to be printed onto, there is nothing available yet for conformal printing onto unknown uneven surfaces that are scanned on-the-fly. A low-cost prototype named 'InSPIREd' was recently developed to achieve this, made possible with a combination of multi-disciplinary expertise, ingenuity and problem tackling know how, and the latest improvements are presented in this paper. The prototype now includes more capable scanning technology and a simplified calibration procedure.