Three-dimensional printer with laser line scanner

1. A method comprising:

positioning an object within a scan volume, wherein the scan volume is an interior of a three-dimensional printer;

illuminating a surface of the object with a laser line;

capturing a plurality of images of the laser line on the surface while rotating the object about a first axis;

analyzing the plurality of images to capture a measurement at each one of a number of z-axis positions along a second axis, thereby providing planar outline data including a plurality of measurements for each one of the z-axis positions;

combining the plurality of measurements for each one of the z-axis positions to provide a cross section of the object perpendicular to the second axis at that one of the z-axis positions, thereby providing a digital representation of the object including a plurality of cross sections at a plurality of z-axis positions; and

creating tool instructions for the three-dimensional printer to fabricate a copy of at least a portion of the object using at least a portion of the plurality of cross sections to control a tool head of the three-dimensional printer to reproduce the surface of the object directly from the plurality of cross sections without use of interim computer models, wherein the three-dimensional printer fabricates objects using at least one of fused deposition modeling, stereolithography, Digital Light Processor (DLP) three-dimensional printing, and selective laser sintering.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the second axis is the same as the first axis.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first axis is parallel to a z-axis of the fabrication system.

4. A method comprising:

positioning an object within a scan volume, wherein the scan volume is an interior of a three-dimensional printer;

illuminating a surface of the object with a laser line;

capturing a plurality of images of the laser line on the surface while rotating the object about a first axis;

analyzing the plurality of images to provide a point cloud including a plurality of surface outlines of the object in three dimensions;

converting the plurality of surface outlines into planar outline data including a plurality of cross sections, each one of the plurality of cross sections lying in a plane perpendicular to a second axis and at a different point along the second axis; and

creating tool instructions to fabricate a copy of the object using at least a portion of the plurality of cross sections to control a tool head of the three-dimensional printer to reproduce a shape of the surface directly from the plurality of cross sections without use of interim computer models, wherein the three-dimensional printer fabricates objects using at least one of fused deposition modeling, stereolithography, Digital Light Processor (DLP) three-dimensional printing, and selective laser sintering.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the first axis is the same as the second axis.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein rotating the object around the first axis includes rotating a platform on which the object rests.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the platform is a build platform of an additive fabrication system.

8. The method of claim 4 wherein rotating the object around the first axis includes revolving a camera that captures the plurality of images around the object.

9. The method of claim 4 wherein rotating the object around the first axis includes revolving a source of the laser line around the object.

10. The method of claim 4 wherein illuminating the object includes directing light from a laser through a lens that distributes the light across a plane.

11. The method of claim 4 wherein illuminating the object includes directing light from a laser toward a moving mirror that oscillates to direct the light across a plane.

12. The method of claim 4 wherein the second axis corresponds to a z-axis of a fabrication process.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the plurality of cross sections are spaced apart at a distance corresponding to a processing height of the fabrication process.

14. A device comprising:

a three-dimensional printer having a working volume wherein the three-dimensional printer fabricates objects using at least one of fused deposition modeling, stereolithography, Digital Light Processor (DLP) three-dimensional printing, and selective laser sintering;

a build platform within the working volume, the build platform including a planar surface and rotational drive to rotate the build platform about an axis perpendicular to the planar surface;

a laser line projector directed toward the working volume;

a camera directed toward the working volume; and

a controller configured to coordinate operation of the rotational drive, the laser line projector, and the camera to capture three-dimensional data from a surface of an object within the working volume, thereby providing three-dimensional surface data for the object, wherein controller is further configured to extract a number of two-dimensional outlines of the object at a number of positions along the axis from the three-dimensional data thereby providing planar outline data, and to generate tool instructions to control a tool head of the three-dimensional printer directly from the planar outline data without the creation of interim computer models to fabricate a three-dimensional copy of the surface of the object.

15. The device of claim 14 wherein the tool instructions include a tool path for a fused deposition modeling process.

16. The device of claim 14 wherein the three-dimensional printer fabricates objects using at least one of fused deposition modeling, stereolithography, DLP three-dimensional printing, and selective laser sintering.

17. The device of claim 14 wherein the three-dimensional data includes a point cloud of the surface of the object.

18. The device of claim 14 wherein the three-dimensional data includes a plurality of cross-sections of the surface of the object at a plurality of predetermined positions along an axis through the working volume.