Laser Scanner Helps Mold
Shop Cut Reverse Engineering Time by 90 Percent
 Using
a laser scanner instead of digitizing methods has helped a local mold
builder greatly decrease the time it takes to
create an accurate 3D model of reverse engineering projects.
Reverse
engineering, or digitizing a physical part, is a critical task for any
mold and pattern shop. With laser scanning technology, parts can be
scanned at a much higher level of resolution than is possible with a
digital probe, thereby quickly producing a surface model ready for
machining. “Our SURVEYOR PS-1100 laser scanner from Laser Design
provides a much more accurate geometric model in about one-tenth the time
required with a digitizer probe,” said the company’s president.
He
said parts have gotten so complex today that it takes at least tens of
thousands, and often hundreds of thousands, of points to create an
accurate 3D model.
“Old
methods used to define part geometry tied up machines from 12 to 24
hours,” he said.
“Laser
scanning takes far less time than a digitizer because instead of
collecting points one by one, the scanner picks up thousands every second.
Instead of spending days to reverse engineer a complicated part, we can
now do it in an hour or two.”
This
method also produces a far more detailed and accurate point cloud,
typically containing two to five million points that can be used to
machine even the most complicated part to demanding tolerances.
According
to the mold builder, laser scanning also does away with other limitations
of a digitizer probe such as its inability to accurately define small
features or to measure soft parts.
“Since there is no probe on a laser scanner that must physically
touch the object, the problems of depressing soft objects and measuring
small cavities are eliminated.”
The
company’s president also said that the new laser scanner has helped
substantially increase reverse engineering quality while reducing
turnaround time and increasing uptime of machine tools.
“The result is that we have attracted more reverse engineering
work, which often leads to machining jobs, and freed up our machine tools
for machining purposes.”
“We
can now reverse engineer parts that would have been difficult or
impossible on a machining center,” he said. “Anything with a weird
shape or intricate design can be done much more quickly and accurately on
the laser scanner. Our
customers know that we can reverse engineer their most complex prototypes,
patterns and molds without any difficulty.”
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