阅读说明：本技术 信息处理装置、信息处理方法以及计算机可读介质 (Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and computer-readable medium ) 是由 中森悠太 得地贤吾 于 2020-11-02 设计创作，主要内容包括：本公开提供一种信息处理装置、信息处理方法以及计算机可读介质。信息处理装置包括处理器,所述处理器执行下述处理：确定作为制造对象的目标物,生成管理信息,所述管理信息将所确定的所述目标物的构成品分为利用三维打印机生成的第一构成品与从三维打印机以外供应的第二构成品来进行管理。(The present disclosure provides an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a computer-readable medium. The information processing apparatus includes a processor that performs a process of: an object to be manufactured is specified, and management information is generated that manages the specified components of the object by dividing the components into a first component that is generated by a three-dimensional printer and a second component that is supplied from a location other than the three-dimensional printer.)

1. An information processing apparatus includes a processor,

the processor performs the following processing:

an object to be manufactured is specified,

and generating management information for managing the determined components of the target object by dividing the components into a first component generated by a three-dimensional printer and a second component supplied from a location other than the three-dimensional printer.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

The processor determines whether the constituent product is the first constituent product or the second constituent product based on structured information structured with respect to the constituent product.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

The processor updates the structured information each time the management information is generated.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

The processor determines the target object based on design information including drawings and materials.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

The design information is computer-aided design data.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

The processor determines whether the constituent product is the first constituent product or the second constituent product, based on a time period for which the constituent product is determined.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein

The processor determines whether the component is the first component or the second component based on environmental information associated with the time period.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

The processor determines whether the component is the first component or the second component by referring to other management information for the component of the same target object.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

The processor determines whether the component is the first component or the second component in consideration of a manufacturing cost of a three-dimensional printer.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

The processor determines whether the constituent product is the first constituent product or the second constituent product in consideration of the quality of the target object.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

And in the case that the finished product is the second finished product, the processor generates order information of the finished product.

12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

The processor generates the management information in an extensible markup language format.

13. A computer-readable medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute processing, the processing being:

an object to be manufactured is specified,

and generating management information for managing the determined components of the target object by dividing the components into a first component generated by a three-dimensional printer and a second component supplied from a location other than the three-dimensional printer.

14. A method for processing information includes the steps of,

an object to be manufactured is specified,

and generating management information for managing the determined components of the target object by dividing the components into a first component generated by a three-dimensional printer and a second component supplied from a location other than the three-dimensional printer.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a computer-readable medium.

Background

Japanese patent application laid-open No. 2001-261120 describes an invention, and an object thereof is to provide a logistics management method and a logistics management system capable of grasping information on the location of a carrier (carrier) such as a cage used in the entire logistics process and the type and quantity of articles loaded on the carrier in real time (real time), thereby enabling efficient logistics management and improving the reuse rate of the carrier.

Japanese patent laying-open No. 2015-138471 describes an invention, and an object thereof is to provide a three-dimensional printer support program, a medium storing the three-dimensional printer support program, and a three-dimensional printer support device storing the three-dimensional printer support program, which are capable of confirming the roughness of the surface of a molded product by a realistic simulation (simulate) without actually molding the three-dimensional molded product by a three-dimensional printer.

Japanese patent application laid-open No. 2016-85501 describes an invention, and an object thereof is to provide a measurement system support device capable of allowing a maintenance worker including a maintenance worker to accurately grasp a physical distance or a positional relationship between an abnormality occurrence portion of a device (plant) and its periphery in a short time.

Japanese patent No. 5891586 discloses a Computer Aided Design (CAD) data generating device, a CAD data generating program, and a storage medium suitable for three-dimensional object production by a three-dimensional printer, and particularly discloses three-dimensional CAD data of a structure at each step of construction. Another object of the present invention is to provide a CAD data generating device that can generate three-dimensional CAD data so that a target three-dimensional object can be produced as if it were an integrated object, and the integrated object can also be divided.

Disclosure of Invention

When an article is produced by a three-dimensional printer, there are cases where the article is produced by only the three-dimensional printer and cases where the article is produced including a portion produced by another method. However, there is no management technique for information generated by a target object by starting and creating a composite material.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide an information processing apparatus and an information processing method and a computer-readable medium capable of managing information for generating a target object using a three-dimensional printer.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an information processing apparatus including a processor that performs: an object to be manufactured is specified, and management information is generated that manages the specified components of the object by dividing the components into a first component that is generated by a three-dimensional printer and a second component that is supplied from a location other than the three-dimensional printer.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, the processor determines whether the constituent product is the first constituent product or the second constituent product based on structured information structured with respect to the constituent product.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, the processor updates the structured information every time the management information is generated.

According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, the processor determines the target object based on design information including drawings and materials.

According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, the Design information is Computer Aided Design (CAD) data.

According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, the processor determines whether the constituent product is the first constituent product or the second constituent product, according to a period in which the constituent product is determined.

According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, the processor determines whether the component product is the first component product or the second component product, based on the environmental information associated with the time period.

According to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, the processor determines whether the component is the first component or the second component with reference to other management information for a component of the same target object.

According to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, the processor determines whether the component product is the first component product or the second component product in consideration of a manufacturing cost of a three-dimensional printer.

According to a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, the processor determines whether the component is the first component or the second component in consideration of a quality of the target object.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, in a case where the component product is the second component product, the processor generates order information of the component product.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present disclosure, the processor generates the management information in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) format.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute processes of: an object to be manufactured is specified, and management information is generated that manages the specified components of the object by dividing the components into a first component that is generated by a three-dimensional printer and a second component that is supplied from a location other than the three-dimensional printer.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an information processing method of specifying an object to be manufactured, and generating management information for managing components of the specified object by dividing the components into a first component produced by a three-dimensional printer and a second component supplied from a location other than the three-dimensional printer.

(Effect)

According to the first aspect, it is possible to manage information relating to a constituent product for generating an object using a three-dimensional printer.

According to the second aspect, information relating to a structural product for generating an object using a three-dimensional printer can be managed based on structured information.

According to the third aspect, it is possible to manage information relating to a structural product based on structured information that is updated each time management information is generated.

According to the fourth aspect, information relating to the constituent product can be managed based on design information including drawings and materials.

According to the fifth aspect, information relating to the fabricated product can be managed based on CAD data.

According to the sixth aspect, it is possible to manage information on a component product according to a time period for determining the component product.

According to the seventh aspect, it is possible to manage information relating to a finished product based on environmental information specifying a time of the finished product.

According to the eighth aspect, it is possible to manage information relating to a component with reference to other management information relating to a component of the same object.

According to the ninth aspect, information relating to the constituent product can be managed in consideration of the manufacturing cost of the three-dimensional printer.

According to the tenth aspect, information on the constituent product can be managed in consideration of the quality of the target object.

According to the eleventh aspect, it is possible to generate order information for ordering a component that cannot be output from the three-dimensional printer.

According to the twelfth aspect, management information can be managed in the same format as that for outputting a build product from a three-dimensional printer.

According to the thirteenth aspect, it is possible to manage information relating to a constituent product for generating an object using a three-dimensional printer.

According to the fourteenth aspect, it is possible to manage information relating to a constituent product for generating an object using a three-dimensional printer.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a computer-readable medium that manage information for generating an object using a three-dimensional printer by identifying an object to be manufactured and generating management information for managing components of the identified object.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the information processing apparatus.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of management information.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of management processing of the component by the information processing apparatus.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of structured information.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or equivalent constituent elements and portions are denoted by the same reference numerals. For convenience of explanation, the dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated and may be different from actual ratios.

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The information processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment acquires information related to the manufacturing target 40 from the user U, and specifies information related to the components of the manufacturing target 40. The information processing apparatus 10 determines whether the specified component is a component that can be output by a Three-Dimensional (3D) printer 30 or a component supplied from a location other than the 3D printer 30. The manufacturing target 40 is not limited to a specific object as long as it includes a configuration product that can be output by the 3D printer 30.

The information processing apparatus 10 generates 3D data 20 for output by the 3D printer 30 for a configuration product that can be output by the 3D printer 30. The 3D data 20 may be data in a three-dimensional Extensible Markup Language (XML) format, for example, in which each element is defined by specifying the size and material of each element, using a voxel (voxel). As such data, for example, there is data that can produce voxels (FAV) in accordance with a data format for 3D printing. FAV is a data format for 3D printers capable of holding complex three-dimensional information including the internal structure, color, material, bonding strength, and the like of a three-dimensional object (object). Needless to say, the data format for 3D printing that can be used in the present disclosure is not limited to FAV. For example, a data format in which data expressing a three-dimensional shape is stored in a text format or a binary format, and a data format other than FAV in which data expressing a three-dimensional shape is described in an XML format can also be used in the present disclosure. Examples of the former include data formats such as Standard Triangulated Language (STL), and examples of the latter include data formats such as Additive Manufacturing File Format (AMF) and three-dimensional Additive Format (3D Manufacturing Format, 3 MF).

The information processing apparatus 10 generates information for supplying a component supplied from a location other than the 3D printer 30. The information for supplying the finished product may be, for example, information for ordering a manufacturing source of the finished product, or may be 3D data for output by a 3D printer 30 if the information can be output by another 3D printer.

The information processing apparatus 10 may refer to the information recorded in the server 50 when determining whether the component can be output by the 3D printer 30 or the component supplied from a location other than the 3D printer 30. The server 50 holds, for example, information indicating whether or not the constituent product can be output by the 3D printer 30, information relating to supply of the constituent product, information relating to cost consumed for output or supply of the constituent product, and the like.

The 3D printer 30 outputs the components constituting the manufacturing target 40 based on the 3D data 20. The manufacturing target 40 includes a component output from the 3D printer 30 or a component supplied from another place.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 10.

As shown in fig. 2, the information Processing apparatus 10 includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 11, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 12, a Random Access Memory (RAM) 13, a storage 14, an input Unit 15, a display Unit 16, and a communication Interface (Interface, I/F) 17. The structures are communicatively connected to each other via a bus 19.

The CPU 11 is a central processing unit and executes various programs or controls each unit. That is, the CPU 11 reads out the program from the ROM 12 or the storage 14 and executes the program with the RAM 13 as a work area. The CPU 11 performs control of the respective components and various arithmetic processes by programs recorded in the ROM 12 or the storage 14. In the present embodiment, the ROM 12 or the storage 14 stores an information processing program for determining whether or not the information processing program is a component that can be output by the 3D printer 30.

The ROM 12 stores various programs and various data. The RAM 13 temporarily stores programs and data as a work area. The storage 14 includes a storage device such as a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), a Solid State Drive (SSD), or a flash memory (flash memory), and stores various programs including an operating system and various data.

The input unit 15 includes a pointing device (pointing device) such as a mouse (mouse) and a keyboard (keyboard), and is used for various inputs.

The display unit 16 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and displays various kinds of information. The display unit 16 may be of a touch panel type and functions as the input unit 15.

The communication Interface 17 is an Interface for communicating with other devices such as the 3D printer 30 and the server 50, and for example, standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), and Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) are used.

The information processing apparatus 10 uses the hardware resources to realize various functions when executing the information processing program. The functional configuration realized by the information processing apparatus 10 will be described.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 10.

As shown in fig. 3, the information processing device 10 has a functional configuration including an input unit 101, a specification unit 102, a management unit 103, a generation unit 104, and an output unit 105. Each functional configuration is realized by the CPU 11 reading and executing an information processing program stored in the ROM 12 or the storage 14.

The input unit 101 outputs information on the manufacturing target 40 from the user U. The information related to the manufacturing target 40 may be design information of the manufacturing target 40 including drawings and materials, for example. The information related to the manufacturing target object 40 may be an image obtained by capturing an image of the manufacturing target object 40 with a camera, for example. The information related to the manufacturing target object 40 may be information obtained from the server 50 or the like by reading a two-dimensional code attached to the manufacturing target object 40, for example. The design information of the manufacturing target 40 may be two-dimensional or three-dimensional CAD data, for example. The design information of the production target 40 may be, for example, data obtained by scanning a design drawing described on paper.

The specifying unit 102 specifies the component of the manufacturing target object 40 based on the information on the manufacturing target object 40 input by the input unit 101. For example, when design information of the manufacturing target object 40 is input, the specification unit 102 specifies a structural product based on the dimensions, materials, and other information specified by the design information. When the input unit 101 inputs two-dimensional or three-dimensional CAD data, the specifying unit 102 specifies a component of the production target 40 based on the CAD data. When the input unit 101 inputs data obtained by scanning the design drawing described on the paper, the specifying unit 102 specifies the component of the manufacturing target object 40 based on the scanned data. For example, when an image obtained by imaging the production target 40 is input, the specification unit 102 analyzes the image to specify the product. The specification unit 102 may specify the component of the manufacturing target object 40 from an image obtained by capturing an image of the manufacturing target object 40 with a camera, using a learning model of machine learning based on predetermined teaching data, for example. The learned model may also be stored in the server 50, for example.

The specification unit 102 determines whether the specified component of the production target object 40 is a component that can be output by the 3D printer 30 or a component supplied from a location other than the 3D printer 30. In the following description, a component that can be output by the 3D printer 30 is also referred to as a "first component", and a component supplied from a location other than the 3D printer 30 is also referred to as a "second component". The determination unit 102 refers to information relating to the performance of the 3D printer 30 when determining whether the component is the first component or the second component. Examples of the information related to the performance of the 3D printer 30 include the output size of the output product, usable materials, and unit time required for output.

The specification unit 102 specifies three types of components of the target object 40, i.e., a component a, a component B, and a component C. The determination unit 102 determines whether each of the three determined components is a first component or a second component.

The determination section 102 may also determine whether the first component or the second component is based on the structured information structured with respect to the components. Examples of structured information will be described later. The identification unit 102 may use information held by the information processing device 10 or information stored in the server 50 in determining whether the component is the first component or the second component. The determination unit 102 may determine whether the first component or the second component is the first component using a learning completion model such as machine learning.

From the information stored in the server 50, it may not be possible to accurately determine whether the component specified by the specifying unit 102 is the first component or the second component. In this case, the determination unit 102 may determine whether the component is the first component or the second component using information on components having shapes similar to the determined component.

The determination unit 102 may consider a cost for outputting the finished product by the 3D printer 30 when determining whether the finished product is the first finished product or the second finished product. For example, the determination unit 102 may determine that the component is the first component, as long as the cost for outputting the component by the 3D printer 30 is lower than a predetermined threshold value.

Consider, for example, the following: at a certain point in time, the component cannot be output from the 3D printer 30, but the performance of the 3D printer 30 improves, and at another point in time thereafter, it becomes possible to output the same component from the 3D printer 30. Further, for example, consider the following case: when a component is output from the 3D printer 30 at a certain point in time, a huge cost is consumed, but the price of the material is lowered, and when the same component is output from the 3D printer 30 at another point in time later, the cost is lowered. Further, for example, the following cases are also considered: at some point in time, the article is manufactured as a go-no-go article, but manufacturing is discontinued and cannot be started. In addition, it is conceivable that the components to be used may vary depending on the rainy season with a lot of moisture or the dry winter season. Similarly, a case where the components to be used are changed depending on the weather of each day is considered. If the predetermined time period for output by the 3D printer is known in advance, how to process the finished product may be determined based on the output time period in accordance with future environmental information, for example, weather forecast information. Therefore, in consideration of this, the determination unit 102 may determine whether the component is the first component or the second component based on the timing of determining the component of the target object 40 to be manufactured. In this case, the determination unit 102 may determine whether the component is the first component or the second component by referring to the latest information on the component stored in the server 50. The determination unit 102 may determine whether the component is the first component or the second component based on the version of the information on the manufacturing target object 40 input by the input unit 101.

Consider, for example, the following: in some places, the finished product cannot be output from the 3D printer 30 due to the characteristics of the material, but in other places, the finished product can be output from the 3D printer 30 due to the characteristics of the material. Therefore, in consideration of this, the determination unit 102 may determine whether the component is the first component or the second component based on the location where the component of the target object 40 is determined to be manufactured.

The determination unit 102 may determine whether the component is the first component or the second component, taking into consideration the quality of the target object after the components are assembled. For example, the determination unit 102 may preferentially determine that the component is output from the 3D printer 30 when the manufacturing cost of the target object is set to be weighted, and preferentially determine that the component is supplied from a location other than the 3D printer 30 when the quality of the target object is set to be weighted. The specification unit 102 may input a setting for emphasizing the quality of the target object to the User through a Graphical User Interface (GUI), for example.

The management unit 103 generates management information that manages whether the component determined by the determination unit 102 is the first component or the second component. In the above example, the management unit 103 generates management information that the component a and the component B are the first component and the component C is the second component. The management unit 103 may transmit the generated management information to the server 50. By integrating the management information into the server 50, the accuracy of the determination processing by the specifying unit 102 is improved. That is, the determination unit 102 may use other management information stored in the server 50 when determining whether the component is the first component or the second component.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the management information generated by the management unit 103. The management information shown in fig. 4 manages whether output from the 3D printer 30 is possible or supplied from elsewhere for each of the constituent products determined for each of the manufacturing targets. In fig. 4, the management information is shown in the format of a database, but the format of the management information is not limited to this example, and may be described in, for example, an XML format. By describing the management information in the XML format, the information processing apparatus 10 can manage the configuration product in the same manner as the data format for 3D printing even if the configuration product is the second configuration product.

The information processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment can manage what kind of feature a component has by generating management information for managing whether the component is the first component or the second component.

When the determination unit 102 determines whether the component is the first component or the second component by referring to the management information stored in the server 50, the determination may be made based on the size of the number of pieces of management information referred to. For example, when more users than the predetermined threshold refer to information that a certain component is a first component, the specification unit 102 may determine that the component is the first component.

The generation unit 104 generates data based on the management information generated by the management unit 103. If the component identified by the identification unit 102 is the first component, the generation unit 104 generates the 3D data 20 for outputting the component from the 3D printer 30. The format of the 3D data 20 is not particularly limited, but may be data in a three-dimensional XML format in which voxels are used as element units and the size and material of each element are defined as described above. As such data, for example, data conforming to FAV, which is a data format for 3D printing, is available.

Then, if the component identified by the identification unit 102 is the second component, the generation unit 104 generates data for supplying the component from outside the 3D printer 30. The generation section 104 generates, for example, order information for ordering a component product to a manufacturing source as data for supplying the component product from outside the 3D printer 30. When the component can be output from a 3D printer other than the 3D printer 30, the generation unit 104 generates 3D data output from the 3D printer as data for supplying the component from the 3D printer 30. Here, a format for 3D data output from a 3D printer other than the 3D printer 30 is not particularly limited. As described above, the 3D data may be data in a three-dimensional XML format in which each voxel is defined as an element unit and the size and material of each element are defined. As such data, for example, data conforming to FAV, which is a data format for 3D printing, is available.

The output unit 105 outputs the data generated by the generation unit 104. If the data generated by the generation unit 104 is 3D data 20 for outputting the finished product from the 3D printer 30, the output unit 105 outputs the 3D data 20 to the 3D printer 30. If the data generated by the generation unit 104 is order information for ordering the component to the manufacturing source, the output unit 105 outputs the generated order information to a predetermined order system. When the data generated by the generation unit 104 is 3D data for outputting a finished product from a 3D printer other than the 3D printer 30, the output unit 105 outputs the 3D data to the 3D printer.

With this configuration, the information processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment can manage information for generating a manufacturing target object using a 3D printer and output the information for generating the manufacturing target object.

Next, an operation of the information processing apparatus 10 will be described.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of management processing of the component by the information processing apparatus 10. The CPU 11 reads out an information processing program from the ROM 12 or the storage 14, expands the program in the RAM 13, and executes the program, thereby performing a management process of the component.

First, the CPU 11 inputs information related to the manufacturing target 40 from the user U (step S101). The information related to the manufacturing target object 40 may be, for example, design information of the manufacturing target object 40, an image obtained by capturing an image of the manufacturing target object 40 with a camera, or information acquired from the server 50 or the like by reading a two-dimensional code attached to the manufacturing target object 40. The design information of the manufacturing target 40 may be two-dimensional or three-dimensional CAD data, for example.

Subsequent to step S101, the CPU 11 determines the components of the manufacturing target object 40 based on the input information on the manufacturing target object 40 (step S102). When design information of the manufacturing target object 40 is input, for example, the CPU 11 determines a finished product based on the dimensions, materials, and other information specified by the design information. When an image obtained by imaging the manufacturing target 40 is input, for example, the CPU 11 analyzes the image to determine a component product. The CPU 11 may specify the components of the manufacturing target object 40 from an image of the manufacturing target object 40 captured by a camera using a learning model of machine learning, for example. The learned model may also be stored in the server 50, for example.

Subsequent to step S102, the CPU 11 manages the components of the identified manufacturing target object 40 (step S103). Specifically, the CPU 11 generates management information that manages whether the determined component is the first component or the second component. The format of the management information is not limited to a specific format. The CPU 11 generates management information to manage the specified components of the manufacturing target object 40. The CPU 11 may store the generated management information in the storage 14 or may transmit the management information to the server 50.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of structured information in which information is structured centering on a production target. Reference numeral 200 denotes a manufacturing target which becomes the center of the structured information. Reference numeral 210 denotes information input to the information processing apparatus 10 for specifying a manufacturing target object. Symbol 220 is a set of information that is structured and decomposed from the manufacturing target. In the structured information shown in fig. 6, the directions of arrows indicate the master-slave relationship of the respective information.

For example, CAD data is required to produce a production target object, and an original drawing is required to generate the CAD data. Further, there are not only structural products that can be manufactured by a 3D printer but also structural products that must be supplied from the outside. In addition, when traceability (traceability) of a production target object or a component must be ensured, various kinds of information are required for traceability.

The CPU 11 may also generate management information for managing whether the determined component is the first component or the second component by referring to the structured information shown in fig. 6. Further, the CPU 11 may update the structured information every time the management information is generated.

Subsequent to step S103, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the determined component of the manufacturing target object 40 is the first component, that is, whether or not the component is a component that can be output by the 3D printer 30, for all components (step S104).

If the determined component of the manufacturing target object 40 is the first component (step S104; yes), the CPU 11 generates 3D data 20 for output by the 3D printer 30 (step S105). The format of the 3D data 20 is not particularly limited, but may be data in a three-dimensional XML format in which voxels are used as element units and the size and material of each element are defined as described above. As such data, for example, data conforming to FAV, which is a data format for 3D printing, is available.

Subsequent to step S105, the CPU 11 outputs the generated 3D data 20 to the 3D printer 30 (step S106).

On the other hand, if the determined component of the manufacturing target 40 is not the first component (step S104; no), that is, if it is the second component supplied from the outside of the 3D printer 30, the CPU 11 generates data for supply from the outside of the 3D printer 30 (step S107). If the determined component is the second component, the CPU 11 generates, for example, order information for ordering the component to the manufacturing source as data for supplying the component from outside the 3D printer 30. When the component can be output from a 3D printer other than the 3D printer 30, the CPU 11 generates 3D data output from the 3D printer as data for supplying the component from the 3D printer 30.

By executing this operation, the information processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment can manage information for generating a manufacturing target object using a 3D printer and output the information for generating the manufacturing target object.

The information processing device 10 of the present embodiment can be applied to unique identification of the manufacturing target 40 by generating management information. That is, the information processing device 10 can ensure that the same manufacturing target object 40 can be output based on the same management information by generating the management information for managing the components of the manufacturing target object 40.

In the above embodiments, the information processing in which the CPU reads and executes the software (program) may be executed by various processors other than the CPU. Examples of the processor in this case include a dedicated electric Circuit or the like having a Circuit configuration designed specifically for executing a Specific process, such as a Programmable Logic Device (PLD) such as a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) whose Circuit configuration can be changed after manufacture, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), and the like. The information processing may be executed by one of the various processors, or may be executed by a combination of two or more processors of the same type or different types (for example, a plurality of FPGAs, a combination of a CPU and an FPGA, or the like). The hardware configuration of the various processors is, more specifically, an electric circuit in which circuit elements such as semiconductor elements are combined.

In the above embodiments, the description has been given of the form in which the program for information processing is stored (installed) in advance in the ROM or the storage, but the present invention is not limited to this. The program may be provided in a form of being recorded on a non-transitory (non-transitory) recording medium such as a Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), a Digital Versatile Disc Read Only Memory (DVD-ROM), or a Universal Serial Bus (USB) Memory. The program may be downloaded from an external device via a network.

Further, the operations of the processors in the above embodiments may be performed not only by one processor but also by a plurality of processors located at physically separate locations in cooperation. The order of the operations of the processor is not limited to the order described in the above embodiments, and may be changed as appropriate.