Earlier the parts and equipment designed in the pre-CAD era caused problems in industries right from aerospace to power generation. Things that were designed without the benefit of CAD technology used to lack the critical documentation and information that was necessary for creating accurate models. Therefore, reverse engineering was essential in order to create CAD models needed by engineers and came into existence. Reverse engineering is a technology that helped in creating a three-dimensional virtual model of an existing physical part. Manufacturers made use of reverse engineering to deconstruct product or system, evaluate, improve, or transform obsolete design information. However, now there are a number of optical measurement system available for engineers today that are the best alternative to previous methods. Have a look at the tools that are now mainly used for reverse engineering: Handheld Scanner Traditional methods such as creating 3D models based on hand measurement and 2D drawing are expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, it became crucial to use 3D scanning for reverse engineering. Handheld Scanners can digitize the 3-D surfaces and input relevant information into CAD systems. The tool is also famous to speed up the reverse engineering process. Solidworks Solidworks is the most acceptable tool across the globe and helps in streamlining the design process by refining the existing designs or creating a new one. It can help in the development of 3D models, export to the 3D printer for the development of a prototype, or create molds. Point Cloud Point Cloud are developed by 3D scanners that measure huge points over the surface of an object and give the output in the form of the data file. Therefore, point cloud is used in the creation of 3D CAD models in case of quality inspection, animation, visualization and for manufactured parts. Geomagic Design X The tool is built for converting 3D scan data to high-quality and feature oriented CAD models. Geomagic Design X not only helps in creating feature based model but also an editable solid model that is compatible with the existing CAD software. Also, it is the most comprehensive reverse engineering software. HighRES Add-in for Inventor It is highly compatible laser scanning software that is available today and functions to easily transfer scanned data for further enhancement. The tool can help in obtaining measurement data, convert to parametric CAD model and has many more features. They are developed in order to support current release of the respective CAD/CAM software. Aforementioned is the list of software that works for active development giving an emphasis to renewal and innovation. If you are looking for a partner who can assist you in reverse engineering tools, take up the Product Design using Reverse Engineering course from IID. Within the course, professionals with expertise in reverse engineering will help in your knowledge expansion and subject training.
