Creating machinable textures for CAD/CAM systems

Texture is applied on three-dimensionally modelled surfaces in computer graphics to enhance visual effect. This research focuses on the development of three-dimensional textured surfaces which are suitable for manufacturing. Three approaches for creating the three-dimensional texture are presented. The first approach is to process a design from either an artist's sketch or an image from a two-dimensional scan. The second approach uses a three-dimensional scanned texture. Both these approaches depend on the quality of the scanned image and are more tedious than the third approach, which is to convert texture using parameters and is a more direct approach. In the user interface design, two custom-made forms are developed to cater for both regular and irregular textures. The case studies have shown that the textures created are not only good for a visual effect, but are also machinable. The development work is incorporated into the ArtCAM system which is a specialised CAD/CAM system that is capable of generating three-dimensional shapes from two-dimensional artwork.