Abstract
A new method which uses distance fields scheme and marching cube algorithm is proposed in order to get an accurate offset model of arbitrary shapes composed of triangular net. In the method, the space bounding the triangular net is divided into smaller cells. For the efficient calculation of distance fields, valid cells which will generate a portion of offset model are selected previously by the suggested detection algorithm. These valid cells are divided again into much smaller voxels which assure required accuracy. At each voxel distance fields are created by calculating the minimum distances between corner points of voxels and triangular net. After generating the whole distance fields, the offset surface were constructed by using the conventional marching cube algorithm together with mesh smoothing scheme. The effectiveness and validity of this new offset method was demonstrated by performing numerical experiments for the various types of triangular net.
