Digital Wood: 3D Internal Color Texture Mapping

Abstract

Abstract

Multicolor three-dimensional (3D) printing is typically used for external color textures wrapped around a monomaterial core. Here, we present a digital manufacturing workflow comprising destructive tomographic imaging and voxel printing, to replicate both the surface color texture and the internal color texture of anisotropic organic materials such as wood. Wooden samples were sliced at 27 μm intervals and were imaged using a camera-equipped computer numerical control (CNC) mill. The resulting stack of 230 images was prepared for manufacturing on a voxel-capable 3D printer using a stochastic dithering algorithm. The final printed object closely resembles the original wooden block both in its external appearance and in its internal color pattern, as confirmed when the block is cut or broken. The presented workflow can be employed in digital replication of objects with complex internal patterns that have thus far been impossible to manufacture.