With the advances in technology, many people think that reverse engineering is as simple as doing a quick scan and receiving a complete 3D CAD model the same day.
Unfortunately, it's not as simple as waving a scan wand and receiving a finalized model.
Scanning technology has progressed a lot in recent years. You can scan a wide variety of parts and materials - from items as small as golf balls to full manufacturing facilities. The resulting files will be accurate to within fractions of a millimeter, but it won't happen overnight.
Let's take a look at the steps involved in reverse engineering and what the typical turnaround times are.
Steps to Reverse Engineer a Part
First. You have to consider the part or machine that you want to reverse engineer. The type of scanner that you use will vary based on the material, detail, and size of the components. Once you have decided on the appropriate scanning equipment, you will perform the scan. This will result in a CAD model that's essentially a detailed mesh.
Second. You will use a combination of software and human skill to convert the detailed mesh into a final CAD model with the appropriate information needed for it to be manufactured.
Finally. You will use the new CAD model that you created to have the part engineered.
Turnaround Times to Reverse Engineer a Part
The size and complexity of the part will have the biggest factor in the overall turnaround time. A small part like a golf ball that didn't have a lot of detail would be completed faster than a CAD model of an entire production facility and all of its equipment.
Let's take a look at the different factors.
Scan Time
To get a feel for how long it will take to get an accurate scan, you have to examine a few key pieces of your project.
- How detailed do you need your scan to be? Are you just looking for something rough, or will you need it to be highly detailed?
- How large is your project? Do you need to scan a simple object, or is it a detailed multipart assembly?
- What type of scanner is being used? Different scanners will operate at different speeds.
- Is disassembly required? If it needs to be taken apart and scanned individually, that will take longer.
Scan Turnaround: A typical turnaround time can vary from just a few hours for a smaller, less complex, item to several weeks for a larger, complex, assembly.
CAD Time
During the CAD process, the software is going to need time to render the files that it receives from the scanner. After that, an operator will spend time cleaning up the scans and removing artifacts.
Just like in the scanning phase, small and less complex projects will be completed faster than larger and more complex projects.
CAD Turnaround: A typical turnaround time for refining the CAD models from the scan data can be as few as a couple of days to several weeks for large, detailed, projects.
Need a Quote?
We work with companies in a variety of industries to meet their reverse engineering and inspection needs. We have all the tools, software, and trained operators that you need. From small parts to full facility scans, we have covered.
Contact our team today to get a quote for your project.