Algorithm on Scan Trajectory for Laser Rapid Prototyping Based on Square Lattice

Laser Rapid Prototyping (LRP) can make the material accumulating by layer. And during the process, it has been known that shrinking stress may cause curl distortion. We have attempted to improve the processing speed and reduce the frequency of ON/OFF the laser. In this paper, we propose a new trajectory scan algorithm based on square lattice for Laser Rapid Prototyping (LRP). First, side-length of the square lattice is determined by the metal type and the material properties, and a set of regular square lattices is arranged based on the slices. Then, following the principles of not repeating and fewer breakpoints in solving Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP), the scanning sequence for each area is calculated. Therefore, a certain scan strategy can be determined, followed by the output of trajectory scan. We present the specific steps of the algorithm. The experiment proves the feasibility and superiority of the algorithm.