This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
© 2018 TKNIKA, IMH, Gipuzkoa, Spain | Nachwuchsstiftung Maschinenbau gGmbH, Bielefeld, Germany
 | |
 | How to use this learning unit |
|
 | |
 | |
Design principles for Additive Manufacturing |
 | Changes of design and technology |
|
 | |
 | |
Additive Manufacturing design concepts |
New concepts brought by Additive Manufacturing |
Obtaining a digital file of a part |
 | How to obtain a digital file |
|
 | |
 | File size and 3D file quality |
|

The 3D file format approximates the surface of a CAD model with triangles.
The approximation is never perfect, and the facets introduce coarseness to the model.
By making the triangles smaller, the approximation is improved, resulting in good quality prints.
However, as you decrease the size of the triangle, the number of triangles needed to cover the surface also
increases, leading to heavy weight files.
To find the right balance between file size and 3D quality, it is used the chord height or tolerance parameter which controls the maximum distance from the surface of the original design and the 3D file mesh.
Click all 4 green buttons!
Source: By Kaboldy (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons