Summary. Reverse engineering services decode the design and structure of products using 3D scans. Industries like aerospace, automotive, and energy employ these services to reconstruct, improve, or replicate objects. Businesses benefit by saving time, money, and remedying production faults. Central Scanning offers extensive reverse engineering solutions tailored to diverse needs.
What is reverse engineering? Reverse engineering is the analysis of an object. It deduces design features, where there is little or no additional knowledge about the procedures involved in their original production. Also referred to as back engineering, many industries use the technique to deconstruct man-made objects. Therefore, extracting knowledge and reveal an object’s core design.
By measuring a part using data captured by 3D scanning systems, components and products can be reverse engineered for further engineering. Alternatively, for the re-manufacture of existing parts by creating a CAD model to reflect how it was originally designed.
Some companies simply want to create a copy of a legacy object or make some changes to it. But reverse engineering can also be used to analyse the production methods and design of a competitor’s product. Overall, reverse engineering can save a lot of time and money. Businesses don’t need to worry about sourcing legacy files as it’s possible to create a new design file through a 3D scan. Furthermore, this process can also help to detect and fix a production fault or vulnerability and ultimately reduces the time and final cost of production.
Which industries benefit?
Reverse engineering services are applicable in many fields. For instance: aerospace, automotive, creative, energy, medical, plastic parts and tool making to name a few. For example, in toolmaking, where parts are obsolete or original spares are no longer available or fit for purpose, all parts can be reverse engineered for improving performance. The technique is also widespread in the automotive industry, where designers attempt to construct ever-more complex shapes.
The Secret Cupboard
The Secret Cupboard were producing a sci-fi music video titled ‘Not All She Seems’. They were responsible for producing all of the visual FX shots. They asked us at Central Scanning to provide a 3D scan of one of their armed guards for the purpose of reverse engineering a digital double. The process involved standing very still while a scan was taken from every angle using the Artec Eva.
The Secret Cupboard then created new topology which is optimised for animation, and mapped the details from the 3D scan onto it. This allowed them to increase the number of guards on screen. As well as, do some really fun things digitally that would otherwise have been too dangerous to do for real.
reverse engineering services | How can Central Scanning help?
At Central Scanning, we can provide reverse engineering services to take a 3D scan. After that we can release it as a CAD file ready for further modification, re-manufacture and CNC machining. We can input and output data in most industry formats including: stl, .iges, .step, .asc, .xyz, .txt, .ply, .obj, .3ds, .wrl, .x_t. We have specialised software from a variety of manufacturers including: Polyworks, Geomagic, Rapidform, Rhino CAD, Solidworks and Delcam PowerSHAPE. In addition, we can transfer parametric models to the following programmes: Solidworks, Siemens NX, Pro/E, AutoCAD, Inventor, CATIA.
To find out more about our reverse engineering services, call 01527 558 282 or fill out a form to speak to one of our experts. If you found this blog useful, why not take a look at a previous one: What Should You Know About Buying a 3D Scanner?
