eBook
Drive Product Innovation with Reverse EngineeringExtract New Value from Old Products
SCAN IT 3DMail: [email protected] Tel: +49 1512 69 81 044 www.scanit3d.ch
23D SYSTEMS | EBOOK | DRIVE PRODUCT INNOVATION WITH REVERSE ENGINEERING | MAY 2020
Contents03 DefiningReverseEngineering
04 InspiringGreatDesign
05 AddingValuetotheProductLifecycle
06 IdentifyingCommonProductDevelopmentChallenges• MissingCADFiles
• Archaic,AdHocReverse-EngineeringTechniques
• InabilitytoExtractDesignIntent
• InadequateSoftware
• AdoptionBarriers
10 ImplementingModernReverseEngineering• Top5KeyFeaturesofDedicatedReverse-EngineeringSoftware
• ProvenReverse-EngineeringSolution
• SpeedComparison
• Top5Reverse-EngineeringImplementationChecklist
• FreeTrialandConsultation
33D SYSTEMS | EBOOK | DRIVE PRODUCT INNOVATION WITH REVERSE ENGINEERING | MAY 2020
Defining Reverse EngineeringEverytimeyoucapturephysicalrealitytouseaspartofyourdigitaldesignprocess,youareengaginginreverseengineering.
Whetheryoucallitreverseengineeringorsomethingelse,youarealmostcertainlymeasuringphysicalpartsandusingthosedimensionstoinformmultipleaspectsofyourproductdesigns.Andyouareprobablydoingthismultipletimesthroughouteachproductlifecycle.
Amodernapproachtoreverseengineering—backedbythelatestmeasurementtechnologyandsoftware—candrivevaluethroughoutyourbusiness.
• RebuildCADdataforlegacypartsandtooling.
• Designnewcustomproductsthatfitin,on,oraroundexistingones.
• Documentchangesmadepost-prototypeormanufacture.
• Recreatenon-existentorlostCADdataforpartsandmolds.
• ConvertphysicalpartsintoCADfornewproductdesigns.
Asapractice,reverseengineeringisasoldasengineeringitself.Thankstocontinuingadvancesinhardwareandsoftwaretechnology,reverseengineeringisnowsofast,accurate,andeffectivethatithasbecomeanintegralpartofmodernproductdesign.
“Theshiftfrom2Dto3Danalyseshasmadeatremendousdifference.Ithasenabledustoexpandouranalysesandgeneratereplicableresults.”
Dr.RobertZ.Selden,Jr.,CenterforRegionalHeritageResearchAssociate,StephenF.AustinStateUniversity,Nacogdoches,Texas,USA
43D SYSTEMS | EBOOK | DRIVE PRODUCT INNOVATION WITH REVERSE ENGINEERING | MAY 2020
Inspiring Great DesignEverygreatdesignisinspiredbyanother.
Pioneeringmanufacturersaredeployingmodernreverseengineeringtodrivebusinessvaluethroughoutthedesign,manufacture,andmaintenanceoftheirproducts.
“We’vealwaysbuiltcoolstuff.Butnow,withtheaddedtechnology,we’rebuildingevencoolerstuff—inalotlesstime.”
DaveKindig,Owner,Kindig-ItDesign,SaltLakeCity,Utah,USA
Additive ManufacturingReapplydesignintenttogenerativemeshresultsfromtopologically-optimizedpartsandgetfeature-basedresultsthatyoucaneditandusewithinCAD.
Supply Chain OptimizationReduceleadtimesandcentralizeyourknowledgeandmanufacturingcapabilitybycreatingadigitalinventoryforcriticalpartswithhighwearorpartsthatoftenfail.
Sheet Metal StampingScanstampingdiesthathavebeenmodifiedpostproductionsothatyoucanmodifytheoriginalCADdesignstoreflectreal,as-builtconditions.
Product DesignSignificantlyreducetimetomarketbyusingreverseengineeringtocombineoff-the-shelfpartsandassemblieswithcustom-designedparts.
CastingQuicklycreatemanufacturabledigitalmodelsforbrokencastingswithnodesignplanstorebuildandremanufacturecriticalcomponentsusing3Dscanningandscan-baseddesign.
Redesign and CustomizationStartwithanexistingpart—likeavehicle,vehiclecomponent,orproductthatpreciselyfitsthehumanbody—anduseitasareferencetocreatebrandneworcustom-fitparts.
PrototypingCreatemanufacturabledesignsfasterbydigitizing hand-builtprototypesandprototypestypically fabricatedwithfoam,cardboard,ormodelingclay.
Remanufacturing and MaintenanceProtectexpensiveheavyequipmentfromemergenciesandkeepitrunningefficientlybyusing3Dscandatatocreatespareandreplacementparts.
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Adding Value to the Product LifecycleReverseengineeringaddsvalueateverystepoftheproductlifecycle.
Tocreateandsustainlong-termvalue,manufacturersknowthattheyneedtotakeaholisticviewoftheentireproductlifecycle.Thebest-performingcompanieshavemasteredtheabilitytomoveseamlesslyfromdigital,tophysical,andbacktodigitalthroughouttheproductlifecycleusingtechnologylike3Dscanning,reverse-engineeringsoftware,digitalmetrologysoftware,and3Dprinting.
CONCEPT• Startfromexistingproducts.
• Benchmarkyourcompetitors.
DESIGN
• Ensuredesignswillinterfacewithexistingproducts.
• Capturechanges made tophysicalprototypes.
MANUFACTURE• Speeduptoolingdevelopment.
• Compensatedesignfilestoreflectas-manufacturedstate.
SUPPORT AND MAINTAIN• Manufacturereplacementparts.
• Createtoolingdigitalarchives.
DISPOSE AND REUSE• Leverageintellectualpropertylockedupinphysicalparts.
• Documentas-manufacturedpartsinCAD.
“The3DCADdataprovidesabaselineforwearinspection,rework,andredesign.Withoutit,changesandrepaircanbeanightmare.”
DaveChrisman,ProcessEngineer,B&JSpecialty,Inc.,Wawaka,Indiana,USA
CONCEPT
DESIGN
MANUFACTURESUPPORT AND MAINTAIN
DISPOSE AND REUSE
63D SYSTEMS | EBOOK | DRIVE PRODUCT INNOVATION WITH REVERSE ENGINEERING | MAY 2020
Identifying Common Product Development ChallengesDesignersandengineersoftenencounterproductdevelopmentchallenges.
“That’sthegreatthingaboutthiskindoftechnology.Partsarenolongerlosttotime.We’rereadytogoforanotherhundredyears.”
JayLeno,Owner,JayLeno’sGarage,Burbank,California,USA
Adoptionbarriers
Inabilitytoextractdesignintent
Inadequatesoftware
Archaic,adhocreverse-engineeringtechniques
MissingCADfiles
Readontolearnmoreaboutthesechallengesandhowtoovercomethem.
73D SYSTEMS | EBOOK | DRIVE PRODUCT INNOVATION WITH REVERSE ENGINEERING | MAY 2020
Missing CAD Files
Veryrarelydoesdesignworkoccurinavacuum.Newproductsusuallyrelyonexistingcomponents,interfacewithotherproducts,orareinspiredbyexistingdesigns.
Theideathatyoucandesignamanufacturablepartwithablankscreenandcreativityissomewhatofamyth.Youmustdesignallproductswithincertainconstraints,andmanyoftheseconstraintsaredimensional.
Withaworldquiteliterallyfullofobjectstoleverage,itismuchmoreefficienttostartwithexistingproductsthatyouknowalreadyperformwell.
However,90percentormoreproductsdonothaveexistingCADfiles.WhenCADdesignfilesactuallydoexist,theymaybe2Ddrawingsorplansorout-of-date3Dfilesthatdonotreflecttheas-manufacturedproduct.Designersenduphavingtoreinventthewheelandspendsignificanttimeandeffortrecreatingthedesignsfromscratch.
ReverseengineeringenablesyoutorecreateCADfilesforexistingproducts.
“Weneededa3Dmodelofthe1960s-eraBirdMark7ventilatoras-built,butthemoldsanddrawingshadbeenlost.Soweusednon-destructiveCTscansandreverse-engineeringsoftwaretointerpretthosescansintonativeCADfilesinonly24hours.”
DavidP.Fergenson,Ph.D.,CEO,LivermoreInstruments,Inc.,Oakland,California,USA
83D SYSTEMS | EBOOK | DRIVE PRODUCT INNOVATION WITH REVERSE ENGINEERING | MAY 2020
Archaic, Ad Hoc Reverse-Engineering Techniques
Teamsoftenstrugglewitharchaic,adhocapproachestoreverseengineering.Althoughyoumaynotthinkofitassuch,theuseofevenlimitedmeasurementsinnewproductdesignisaformofreverseengineering.
Measuringpartswithbasichandtools—includingmicrometers,calipers,andevenrulers—foruseinCADmodelstoinformdesignisslow,tedious,error-prone,anddifficulttoverifyforaccuracy.
Coordinate-measuringmachines(CMMs)orportablearmscanmeasuremoreaccuratelyin3Dspacethanhandtools.However,notonlyaretheseoptions time-consuming,theyalsoonlyprovideafewdimensions,don’tprovidethefullpictureorcapturethefullshapeforindefinitestorageandreference,andpotentiallymissimportantdetails.Resolutionmatters.
With3Dscanningandscan-basedreverseengineering,yougetfulldatacapturefast—ataspeedandresolutionthat’simpossiblewithsimplermeasurementtools.Forexample,3Dscanningisatleast2,500timesfasterthanprobing.
“Theentireprojecttookus50hoursinsteadof500,allowingustoachievesuccessinonly10%ofthetimeitwouldhavetakenuscomparedtousingconventionalmeans.”
BobbyMachinski,Owner,MACH-T3Engineering,Campbell,California,USA
93D SYSTEMS | EBOOK | DRIVE PRODUCT INNOVATION WITH REVERSE ENGINEERING | MAY 2020
Inability to Extract Design Intent
Thereisabigdifferencebetweenmanufacturingamodelandmanufacturingagood,useablemodel.Whenyouredesignanexistingpart,youneedtoolsthatenableyoutomakethesameorsimilarcompromisesanddesign-intentdecisionsintheredesignprocessastheoriginaldesigner.Justcapturingitsshapeorcomponentsdoesn’treallyhelpsolverealproblems,withquality.
Everymechanicalpartcontainsdesignintent—liketherevolvingaxisofawheelorgear,aspecificdimensionofafeature,ortheconstraintthataseriesofholesshouldbeofthesameradiusanddepth—hiddenwithinscannedparts.Extractingthedesignintentduringthe3Dscan-to-CADconversionprocessenablesyoutoeditthatdata,useitdirectlyfornewdesignandmanufacture,andgreatlyincreasesthevalueofthereverse-engineeringprocess.
Themeasureofsuccessforreverseengineeringisanaccurate,useablepartthatdeliverssignificantlymorevaluedownstream.Morethan90percentofscan-basedreverseengineeringfocusesoncreatingaCADmodelwithahistory-basedfeaturetreeandeditabledimensionsandconstraintsthatyoucantransfer,intact,tomainstreamCADapplications.
Inadequate Software
Evenifyouhaveahigh-quality3DscannerandalreadyuseCADsoftwarefordesignthatcanimportSTLfiles,youmayfindthatyoustruggletogetaccurate3Dmodelsorspendtoomuchtimeandefforttocreatetheright3Dmodel.
MostCADsoftwareprogramscannothandle3Dscansof evenmoderately-sizedmeasureddatasets,andarethereforeslow,cumbersome,andinefficienttouseforreal-world reverse-engineeringtasksonaregularbasis—evenwithoptionalreverse-engineeringmodules.
Forrealengineeringchallengeswherequalityandaccuracymatter,youneeddedicated,scan-basedsoftware.
Adoption Barriers
Barrierstoadoptingreverse-engineeringmethodscan leadtomissedopportunitiesandbenefits.
Manyteamsavoidreverseengineeringbecausetheydonothavetherighttoolstodoitquickly,accurately,andcost-effectively.But,withtheright3Dscannerandreverse-engineeringsoftware,youcantakeanyphysicalpartandbringitintoyourdigitaldesignenvironment,speedyourproductdevelopmenttime,andleverageexistingpartsinsteadofdesigningfromscratch.
103D SYSTEMS | EBOOK | DRIVE PRODUCT INNOVATION WITH REVERSE ENGINEERING | MAY 2020
Implementing Modern Reverse EngineeringFortunately,thereisabetterway.ReplacingyourexistingCADsoftwarewithdedicatedreverse-engineeringsoftwarefor3Dscan-baseddesignhasmanybenefits.
Amodernreverse-engineeringapproachaccuratelycapturesthecompletegeometryofvirtuallyanythingthatyoucanscanandyieldseditable,manufacturable3DCADmodelsthatmeetspecificengineeringandmanufacturabilityrequirements.Inaddition,thisprocessisfaster,lessexpensive,andeasierthaneverbefore.
Someofthemanybenefitsofmodernreverseengineeringinclude:
• Broadeningyourdesigncapabilities
• EnhancingyourCADenvironment
• Acceleratingtimetomarket
• Leveragingexistingassets
• Reducingcosts
• Doingtheimpossible
“Usinga3Dlaserscannerandsoftware,wecanreverseengineerequipmentinafractionofthetimeittakestomanuallyaccomplishthistask.”
BobbyMachinski,Owner,MACH-T3Engineering,Campbell,California,USA
113D SYSTEMS | EBOOK | DRIVE PRODUCT INNOVATION WITH REVERSE ENGINEERING | MAY 2020
Top 5 Key Features of Dedicated Reverse-Engineering Software
Whenshoppingfordedicatedreverse-engineeringsoftware, lookforfivekeyfeatures.
“Theaccuracyanalyzerfeaturecalculatesthespatialdistancebetweenthemeshandthegeneratedsurfaceandthenassignsacolortothedistance.Itshowsyouhowaccurateyourmodeliscomparedtothemeshthatisbasedontheactualscandata.”
ChristianStark,Engineer,Bellingham,Washington,USA
Real-time accuracy analysis helps ensure models are correct and true. WithmainstreamCADprograms,youoftenhavetostopmodelingandexporttheCADfiletoanotherapplicationtocheckdeviation.Real-timefeedbackistheonlywaytoanalyzetheaccuracyofyourCADmodelontheflyduringeverystepofthereverse-engineeringprocess.
Automated sketching increases accuracy by removing the need to estimate.WithmanyCADprograms,youtypicallyhavetohand-selectpointstoformsketchesor,worse,relyonvisualapproximationstoguesswherethesketchesshouldgo.Youshouldbeabletofitsketchlines,arcs,andcurvesontoscannedpartsmoreaccuratelybybestfittingtotensofthousandsofpointsonamodelautomatically.
Automated feature creation speeds up modeling.CADmodelshavehundredsorthousandsoffeaturesdescribingeveryaspectofagivenpart.Savingjustoneminutewhenmodelingeachfeaturecanadduptohundredsorthousandsofminutes.Commonfeaturemodelingoperationsthatyoushouldbeabletoperformautomaticallyinsecondsinclude2Dand3Dsketch,revolve,extrude,fillet,shell/thicken,andpipe.
Fitted NURBS surfacing makes it easy to capture complex, freeform geometry.Somepartregionssuchasrough,unmachinedcastingportionsdonotrequiredesignintentextraction.Whereappropriate,youshouldbeabletocaptureas-builtNURBSgeometryautomaticallytoblendautomaticsurfaceswithsolid-modeledfeaturesseamlessly.
Seamless data exchange to multiple CAD applications for a native, editable CAD file. CADmodelscreatedinstandalonesoftwaresometimeshavecompatibilityissueswithCADsoftware.YoushouldbeabletoconnectdirectlytomostCADsoftwareprogramsandtransfereachfeatureautomatically,whichyieldsaparametricmodelwithcompletemodelinghistoryinyourCADsoftwareasthoughyoucreateditthereoriginally.
123D SYSTEMS | EBOOK | DRIVE PRODUCT INNOVATION WITH REVERSE ENGINEERING | MAY 2020
Proven Reverse-Engineering Solution
Onesoftwareprogrambringsthisalltogether:Geomagic®DesignX™by3DSystems.
GeomagicDesignXreverse-engineeringsoftwaremakesiteasytoextractnewvaluefromexistingproductsbycreatingCADmodelsfrom3Dscansfaster,moreaccurately,andmorereliablythananyotherreverse-engineeringmethod.ItconnectsdirectlytoyourexistingCADenvironmentandcreatesnativefilesthatyoucanusethesamewayasanyothermodel—exceptthatitaccuratelyrepresentsascannedobject.
Geomagic Design X checks all the boxes:
3–10XfastertimetoCAD Real-timefeedbackwithpatentedaccuracyanalyzer
Handleslargescandatasetsfasterthananyothersoftware
SeamlesslivedatatransfertomostCADsoftware
Mesheditingandpoint-cloudprocessing
OnlysoftwarethatcombinesscanprocessingandCAD
Automatic,guidedsolid-modelextraction
Easytolearnanduse
Accuratesurfacefittingtoorganic3Dscans
Regularupdates
Automatedfeaturecreationandsketching
WWlocalsales,training,andsupport
Provenandtrustedsince1998 Vastnetworkofscannerpartnerships
14,500+licensesinuse
“GeomagicDesignXisthebestreverse-engineeringsoftware,providingagreatfeaturebalanceandeasilyhandlinghugepointclouds.Itsflexiblemodelingmethodsmakeittheidealtoolforawiderangeofchallenges.”
NorimichiAbe,GroupLeaderofGeneralControlGroupforCADMachineProcessing,AsanoCo.,Ltd.,Isesaki,Gunma,Japan
133D SYSTEMS | EBOOK | DRIVE PRODUCT INNOVATION WITH REVERSE ENGINEERING | MAY 2020
Speed Comparison
Let’slookatthefacts.3DSystemsregularlyreceivesfeedbackfromitscustomersaboutmainstreamCADsoftwarescan-to-CADworkflows.Customerfeedbackindicatesthatonverysimplemodelslikewhatyoumayseeinasoftwaredemo,ittakesanexperienceduserthreetoeighttimeslongertocreateanaccurate,high-qualityCADmodelfroma3DscanusingmainstreamCADsoftwarecomparedtoGeomagicDesignX.
Asmodelcomplexityandfeaturecountincrease,reverse-engineeringtimeincreasesatanevenfasterrate.Thiscanadduptohours’orevendays’worthofadditionaltimespentonreverseengineering.ItisnowonderthatthosewhoregularlyreverseengineerobjectsrelyonGeomagicDesignXsoftwaretodoit.
“We’resavinghundredsofmanhours/yearusinga3DscannerandGeomagicDesignXtoscananddesigndirectlyfromthescandata—moreprecisely,withhighercustomersatisfaction.Gettingthefitrightthefirsttimeresultedina100%ROIinthefirstyear.”
AntonioCapristo,Owner,CapristoExhaustSystemsGmbH,Sundern,Germany
• 3XfasterthanmainstreamCAD(ignoringaccuracy)
• 8XfasterthanmainstreamCAD(maintainingaccuracy)
REVE
RSE-
ENG
INEE
RIN
G T
IME
MODEL COMPLEXITY (NUMBER OF FEATURES)
MainstreamCAD(ignoringaccuracy)
MainstreamCAD(maintainingaccuracy)
UP TO 10X FASTERTIME TO CAD
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Top 5 Reverse-Engineering Implementation Checklist“WithabackgroundinCAD,GeomagicDesignXisratherintuitive.Ifounditveryeasytolearnanditdoeseverything Ineedittodo.”
JohnAnastos,AerospaceEngineer,AdvancedVehicleResearch,Greenville,SouthCarolina,USA
Break down the barriers between measurement and design. Directlyinvolvedesignersinthescanningandscan-basedCADmodelingprocessbyhavingproductdevelopmentandengineeringdepartmentsoperatescannersdirectlyorworkcloselywithinspection/qualitydepartmentsthatoperatescanners.
Identify multiple applications for 3D scanning and reverse engineering.Whereverpossible,leveragereverse-engineeringexpertiseandbuildstakeholdersupportacrossyourorganizationtomaximizeyourreturnoninvestment(ROI)andbusinessimpact.
Select the right 3D scanner.Carefullyselectthe3Dscannerthatcoversmost,ifnotall,ofyourmeasurementneedsandworkwithtrustedoutsideservicebureausfortherest.
Don’t use measurement software for design. Mostbundledscannersoftwarefocusesontakinggreatscans—notonapplyingdesignprinciplestoextracttheunderlyingfunctionalintentofapart.Instead,usededicatedreverse-engineeringsoftwarelikeGeomagicDesignXfordesign.
Don’t use design software for measurement. AlthoughitistemptingtouseyourexistingCADsoftwaretocreateCADmodelsfrom3Dscans,itisslow,cumbersome,andinefficientforregularuseinreverseengineering.Specializedscan-to-CADsoftwarelikeGeomagicDesignXandinspectionsoftwarelikeGeomagicControlX™aremust-havesforanyoneseriousaboutreverseengineering.
Checkoutfivekeytipstoadoptreverseengineeringinsideyourorganizationsuccessfully.
TryGeomagicDesignXforyourselfwitha15-dayfreetrial.
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3DSystemsisheretohelp.Webelieveinacollaborative,customer-centricapproachwherewebeginbyunderstandingyourpriorities,challenges,needs,anddesiredoutcomes.
Contact our reverse-engineering experts to discuss your specific applications.
SCAN IT 3DMail: [email protected]. +49 1512 69 81 044www.scanit3d.ch