Computing and fabricating multilayer models

Abstract

We present a method for automatically converting a digital 3D model into a multilayer model : a parallel stack of high-resolution 2D images embedded within a semi-transparent medium. Multilayer models can be produced quickly and cheaply and provide a strong sense of an object's 3D shape and texture over a wide range of viewing directions. Our method is designed to minimize visible cracks and other artifacts that can arise when projecting an input model onto a small number of parallel planes, and avoid layer transitions that cut the model along important surface features. We demonstrate multilayer models fabricated with glass and acrylic tiles using commercially available printers.