Shape enhancement for rapid prototyping

Many applications, for instance, in the reverse engineering and cultural heritage field, require building a physical replica of 3D digital models. Recent 3D printers can easily perform this task in a relatively short time and using color to reproduce object textures. However, the finite resolution of printers and, most of all, some peculiar optical and physical properties of the used materials reduce their perceptual quality. The contribution of this paper is a shape enhancing technique which allows users to increase readability of the tiniest details in physical replicas, without requiring manual post-reproduction interventions.