Pattern shape design for ceramic ware: an integrated solution.

This paper presents an integrated approach to producing a two-dimensional decorative pattern for ceramic bone china cast ware components. The novelty of the approach is to integrate the approximate unwrapping of a generally non-developable surface with the constraints of the manufacturing process. The key components of the solution are an unwrapping algorithm to determine the shape of the pattern from the CAD model and an estimation of the scaling factors for the mould to compensate for shrinkage in drying and firing. The approach produces patterns that are at least as good as the traditional manual approach, which distort less when wrapped onto the final ceramic ware. Furthermore, because the unwrapping is produced from the CAD definition, the pattern design can be completed much earlier in the manufacturing process with a reduction in the lead time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]