Efficient way of printing Christmas trees

Printing a Christmas tree has just become that much more efficient. Scientists have come up with an algorithm which makes it possible to print a 3D Christmas tree without any waste of material or time.

A 3D printer prints an object layer by layer by stacking melted layers of plastic. When the shape sticks out, such as with the branches of the tree it needs extra supporting material. When the 3D print is ready the extra material under the branches needs to be removed. Removing supporting material is time consuming. It is also wasteful.

Scientists have now made an algorithm which makes printing a Christmas tree with its branches which stick out more efficient without the waste. This is done by building the object from pyramid shaped parts. A pyramid shape is well suitable for 3D printing because there is no waste and takes less time. “We faced quite a challenge finding a practical algorithm to split the 3D objects to be printed into the smallest possible number of pyramid shaped parts” says researcher Richard Zhang.