Reverse Engineering is most ideal when CAD data of the object is no longer available. Sometimes you don't have access to a part's original design documentation from its original production. Reverse engineering empowers you to analyse a physical part and explore how it was originally built to replicate, create variations, or improve on the design. The goal is to ultimately create a new CAD model for use in manufacturing.
REVERSE ENGINEERING DIFFERENT THAN 3D SCANNING?
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.
WHY REVERSE ENGINEERING SERVICES WITH WILY TECHNOLOGIES?
To make a part or other item cheaper
Replicate a one-of-a-kind part
Make changes and improvements to a product’s design
Analyze a competitor’s product
Create the mold for a part
Create machining drawings for a handmade prototype
Create a nominal model to be compared against for inspection
Preserve and document handmade molds & obsolete parts
USE OF A 3D MODEL CREATED BY REVERSE ENGINEERING SERVICES?
Because of the high quality models produced during the reverse engineering process, the models variety can be wide. Among the many things that are possible:
Machining & molding
3D printing
Making changes to the design
Patent drawings
Exploded 3D visualizations and animations
Comparisons with other parts or scans
Can be used to design mating parts or packaging
Drawings can be sent overseas for manufacturing instead of the part