8.2.3 3D Marking

All vector-processing functions in the SP-ICE-3 Card's firmware handle 3D (XYZ) vectors by default.

For convenience, the SP-ICE-3 ClientLib also provides vector definition functions which accept 2D (XY) coordinates: these functions have the same effect as their 3D equivalents, but with Z = 0.

In this topic we discuss the basic concepts behind 3D-Marking with the SP-ICE-3 Card.

Marking in three dimensions.

The particular nature of the process that we loosely call 3D Marking varies according to the application we have in mind.

For instance:

Application	Process	Description
Rapid Prototyping	Marking of successive 2D slices.	No change of Z-ordinate necessary during marking of a particular slice.
Something which needs real 3D vectors	Marking of 3D vectors.	Z-ordinate can change during marking of an individual vector.

3D Scan Systems compatibility.

RAYLASE GmbH currently offers two main 3D Scan Systems: FOCUSSHIFTER and AXIALSCAN.

While each of these is designed to serve broadly different application areas, both are fully compatible with the SP-ICE-3 Card.