irmf-slicer

README

IRMF Shader Slicer

Summary

IRMF is a file format used to describe GLSL ES shaders that define the materials in a 3D object with infinite resolution. IRMF completely eliminates the need for software slicers, STL, and G-code files used in 3D printers.

I believe that IRMF shaders will revolutionize the 3D-printing industry.

See github.com/gmlewis/irmf for more details.

About the IRMF Shader Slicer

The technology stack used is Go and OpenGL.

This program is needed to bridge the gap until 3D printer manufacturers adopt IRMF shaders and printable file formats in addition to G-Code or voxel slices. It slices an IRMF shader model into voxel slices and writes out one ZIP file (per IRMF shader model file) containing these slices. These slices can then be fed to 3D printer software that accepts voxel slices as input for printing.

Once 3D printers support IRMF shader model files directly for printing, this slicer will no longer be needed.

FAQ

How do I install it?

After you have a recent version of Go installed, run the following command in a terminal window:

$ go install github.com/gmlewis/irmf-slicer/cmd/irmf-slicer

(Prior to Go 1.13, you would use:

$ GO111MODULE=on go install github.com/gmlewis/irmf-slicer/cmd/irmf-slicer

)

Then you might want to try it out on some of the example IRMF shaders located on GitHub.

To slice one or more .irmf files, just list them on the command line, like this:

$ irmf-slicer examples/*/*.irmf

How does it work?

This slicer dices up your model (the IRMF shader) into slices (planes) that are perpendicular (normal) to the Z (up) axis. The slices are very thin and when stacked together, represent your solid model.

The result is a ZIP file with all the slices in separate sub-folders named by the unique names of the materials.

Why do I get a Slice: compile shader error?

Hmmm... Does the Mac not support GLSL ES 3.00? This needs more investigation.

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License

Copyright 2019 Glenn M. Lewis. All Rights Reserved.

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at

http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.