Research and recommendations for resin printing (SLA/DLP/LCD) support

[Copilot]

Pull Request Checklist

• Have you added an explanation of what your changes do and why you'd like to have them included?
• Have you checked to ensure there aren't any other open pull requests for the same change/update?
• Have you made sure the code is properly formatted and consistent with the existing code style?
• Have you commented the code, particularly in the hard-to-understand areas?
• Have you made corresponding changes to the documentation?

Description

Comprehensive research on integrating resin printing (SLA/DLP/LCD) support based on analysis of the MinceSlicer repository. No implementation—purely research and architectural recommendations.

Research Deliverables

Core Documents

• RESIN_PRINTING_README.md - Overview and quick-start guide
• RESIN_PRINTING_RESEARCH.md - Full technical analysis (650+ lines)
  • FDM vs resin architecture comparison
  • MinceSlicer implementation deep-dive
  • 4-phase implementation roadmap
  • Technical specifications and dependencies
• RESIN_PRINTING_SUMMARY.md - Executive summary for decision-makers
• RESIN_PRINTING_EXAMPLES.md - Proposed API with code examples

Key Findings

Fundamental difference: Resin outputs rasterized PNG layers in ZIP archives vs FDM's vector G-code toolpaths. Requires raycasting instead of path planning.

Recommended architecture: Dual-mode slicer with printMode parameter

// FDM (existing, unchanged)
const slicer = new Polyslice({ filament: pla });
const gcode = slicer.slice(mesh);  // string

// Resin (proposed)
const slicer = new Polyslice({ 
  printMode: "resin",
  printer: new ResinPrinter("AnyCubicPhotonMono")
});
const zipData = slicer.slice(mesh);  // Uint8Array

Dependencies identified:

• three-mesh-bvh - Fast BVH raycasting
• fast-png - Efficient PNG encoding
• jszip - ZIP archive creation

Timeline estimate: 4-7 weeks for working prototype (Phases 1-3), 10-14 weeks for production with advanced features.

Implementation Strategy

1. Phase 1: Foundation (1-2 weeks) - Config classes, printer profiles, dependencies
2. Phase 2: Basic Slicer (2-3 weeks) - Raycasting, PNG generation, pipeline
3. Phase 3: Output (1-2 weeks) - Metadata G-code, ZIP packaging, exporters
4. Phase 4: Advanced (4-6 weeks, optional) - Anti-aliasing, relief textures, format converters

Zero breaking changes. FDM remains default behavior. Shares loaders, preprocessing, and configuration infrastructure.

Value Proposition

Makes Polyslice the only three.js library supporting both FDM and resin printing—complete 3D printing solution for JavaScript ecosystem.

Original prompt

At some point I would like to add support for 3D printing techniques other than just FDM. The next most likely candidate for support would be resin printing. I have seen this repo (https://github.com/yomboprime/MinceSlicer) made by yomboprime that does something similar to Polyslice but for resin printing rather than FDM. Do you think you could study this repo for me and provide some recommendations/insight on how we could add/integrate support for resin printing into Polyslice?

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