Abstract
Conventional data formats for rapid prototyping (RP) such as STL (STereo-Lithography) are not originally designed to represent property distribution. This Paper describes a new software method for rapid prototyping data with 3-D property distribution such as materials and colors by extending the interpretation of existing STL and VRML (Virtual Reality modeling Language) format so that the compatibility between current data formats is maintained. The proposed method uses Multi-STL or VRML as input data format instead of single STL data. We report the algorithm of how to make layer scan data with different mat4erials or colors from input 3-D data and give the experiment results on multi-material and color-distribution rapid prototyping using these scan data.
