Automated Generation of Multi-Material Structures Using the VoxelFuse Framework

Abstract

Multi-material fabrication allows for the creation of individual parts which combine several distinct materials. It can make use of materials with very different properties, allowing for mechanisms to be integrated into monolithic components. However, multi-material structures can be difficult to design using traditional CAD programs due to high material counts or surface complexity. VoxelFuse was previously introduced as an extensible modeling framework to simplify the process of designing manufacturing-ready multi-material components. This paper presents our efforts to expand the VoxelFuse framework with approaches for generating structures including primitive solids, lattice structures, triply periodic surfaces, and dithered material distributions. We introduce two example applications that demonstrate the utility of this framework for generating an infill structure and a graded material transition. This framework provides a foundation for future work in material-aware design automation.