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Reverse Engineering refers to the process of re-creating design drawings by taking measurements and/or scans of the part itself. It’s a simple, two-step process: 1) scan the object, 2) create a 3D model of the object.
The process of creating a CAD model for reverse engineering services requires some understanding of the original designer’s thought process. For example, one must make assumptions about whether a part is supposed to be symmetrical or perfectly round in shape. With reverse engineering, the goal is often to produce a CAD model of very high quality surfaces, or “idealized”, where faces are perfectly flat, holes are perfectly round and surfaces are all seamlessly blended into one another. This makes it easier to create feature-based models along with dimensioned 2D drawings. This is different than “as-built” modeling, where the goal is to intentionally model a part’s flaws wherever they exist.
Common reasons include:
Because of the high quality models produced during the reverse engineering process, the models happen to be very versatile. Among the many things that are possible:
Alternatively, you can just keep the 3D model for safekeeping as documentation for future reference knowing, should the part ever be lost or destroyed, that you have sufficient information build another one. The sky is the limit as to what you can do once the object is in its digital form.
Great news! With different laser scanners, we are able to scan huge parts to tiny parts and everything in between. Examples of scanning we have done range from windows and large monuments to things as small as a coin. We are also able to scan complex organic surfaces such as an artistic human bust.
Different scanners are used depending on the application. Most of our scanners are portable, therefore we are able to scan at the your location. But if your item is small enough, it is usually cheaper to ship the item to one of our scanning offices. This is because our offices are set up to scan items quickly and economically.
Reverse engineering projects start at around $500. We’d love to hear more about what you are working on. Contact us today.
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