Date of Project

4-6-2025

Document Type

Honors Thesis

School Name

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Computer Science

Major Advisor

Dr. Andrew Karem

Second Advisor

Dr. Justin D. Klassen

Abstract

3D printing is a crucial technology with many applications in different fields. To be able to use this technology to its full extent, expertise in computer aided design (CAD) technology and 3D modeling is required. Many people interested in 3D printing do not have this expertise and thus cannot build custom models, and are consequently forced to buy them instead. Natural language processing (NLP) is one tool that can vastly simplify 3D modeling for those lacking CAD experience. Using NLP, someone can simply dictate what they want to be able to print, and a computer can then build a 3D model for them. Furthermore, NLP could be used to create simple machine instructions, known as gcode, that direct a 3D printer to produce a particular shape or figure. To test the efficacy of NLP for gcode generation, an application was built to parse English and then generate gcode for the specified model. While this app can only make simple shapes, it shows great potential in using NLP to simplify the 3D printing process.

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