Cases
Combining a digital CAD model and a physical part into a single unit without reverse engineering results in huge timesavings
Following case study was a joined effort between the NDE Lab (Non-Destructive Evaluation Laboratory) of the Ford Motor Company and Materialise. The goal of the project was to change a two-piece gear assembly into a single unit. So far this sounds easy, except for the fact that the two pieces that had to be combined where on one hand a digital I-DEAS CAD model of a hub and the other hand a physical sprocket bought of shelf.
The traditional procedure at Ford starts with creating a CAD model of the sprocket via time-consuming reverse engineering. Next the models of both the hub and sprocket have to be altered and fit together in a classical CAD package. Afterwards an STL model has to be created to interface with rapid prototyping. This traditional process typically takes months.
Using the 3-matic software reduced this process to only a few days.
First of all, the sprocket was CT scanned, which took 2 hours. Materialise' Mimics software next generated an STL file from the CT images in only 15 minutes. The I-DEAS CAD file was also converted to an STL file. At that moment both files were available in the same file format so the uniting of both parts could start. Surfaces of the hub that were no longer necessary were stripped from the file. Other surfaces were extended and trimmed to create new borders. When working on the sprocket, a scanning error was detected: part of the sprocket wasn't scanned. Luckily there was no reason to panic. By using the 3-matic' sketcher, the gear was easily re-created, all context information was available and ready to re-use. This sketch was next extended to the required height. The bevel was re-designed by using 3-matic' revolve operation. Both pieces could then easily and quickly be combined. In a couple of days, the model was finished and built on an RP machine.
The enormous amount of time savings is basically due to the simplicity and uniformity of the files 3-matic works with: all operations are performed on STL level, no conversion from or to other formats and back again is necessary.
