A contour-based approach to 3D text labeling on triangulated surfaces

This paper presents a simple and efficient method of forming a 3D text label on a 3D triangulated surface. The label is formed by projecting the 2D contours that define the text silhouette onto the triangulated surface, forming 3D contour paths. Surface polygons upon which the 3D contour paths lie are retriangulated using a novel approach that forms a polyline defining the region outside the contour. This algorithm produces labeled 3D surfaces that conform to the specifications of the STL format, making them suitable for fabrication by a rapid prototyping machine. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm in forming flat and extruded labels on non-trivial surfaces.