A part of KEC’s workshop arsenal is the Renishaw Cyclone Digitiser. Digitising is the process of gathering data from undefined 3D surfaces, and is used in industries as diverse as coin, shoe, jewellery, automotive, tool, die, pattern, and mould making. It is used in any industry that needs to capture 3D curved surfaces.

The Cyclone is a dedicated continuous touch probe digitiser that can rapidly scan physical objects and generate a 3D wireframe model of all the features. This wireframe, or CAD model can then be changed to the client’s specifications. CAD models can be manipulated for mirroring, scaling, rotation, translation, and inversion (male/female). This makes developing a family of parts only slightly more difficult than developing a single part.

The system's 3-axis probe captures 2D profiles and 3D point data at velocities up to 118 inches per minute (3 m/min.). It can generate a one-to-one CNC program from a 2" (50mm) sphere in which the tool path is within 0.002" (50 µm) of the sphere's true shape.

The Cyclone's 23 x 19 x 15" (600 x 500 x 400mm) XYZ work envelope holds a model weighing up to 500 lbs. (225 kg).

Almost any physical part can be scanned and the CAD data can be exported to the following formats:

Reverse engineering is an ideal process to use in the following situations:

• A physical model of a product has been produced, but no drawings exist.
• Drawings have been created, but working prototypes have been modified.
• Worn or broken parts, for which there are no drawings, must be replaced and there is no source of supply.
• A 3D CAD system is introduced to a company, and all existing products must be loaded into the system.
• A disaster destroys parts records.

How it Works

During scanning process, a probe contacts an unknown surface and moves back and forth, the surface data being recorded in the form of numerical data points. This data may be used to create a CNC program to machine a replica or geometric variant of the shape, or exported in various formats to a CAD/CAM system for further processing.

Advantages of Digitising over other Methods

As product lives grow shorter and production runs shrink, die/mold makers are facing the reality of faster time-to-market requirements. Improvements in continuous-contact digitising probes and software have made accelerated scanning and digitising an attractive and affordable choice for both small and large mold makers to shorten lead times and streamline the die/mold production cycle.

Digitising combines the benefits of the hardware method of mold production, copymilling, and the software method, CAD/CAM, for increased mold-making efficiency.

Inflexibility and the increased machining time that results is the main drawback to copymilling. The choice of tools and toolpaths is limited by the features of the model, while the speed of tracing is limited by the machinability of the metal. Also, copymilling makes no allowance for a series of similar dies or molds, as in a family of parts, or a matched pair of mirror-image parts. Each part requires its own complete pattern.

However, CAD/CAM can be intolerant of changes that come late in the design/development process. When the customer communicates a design in the form of a model or pattern, altering the design requires only a simple and straightforward adjustment. However, altering a customer supplied set of CAD drawings can be tedious and time-consuming, if not effectively impossible.

Scanning and digitising bridges CAD/CAM and copymilling, combining the benefits of each while sidestepping many of the limitations. Starting with a model gives digitising the adaptability and "inspectability" of working from a pattern. Next, translating the model into CAM data means that machining can be performed with the optimal choice of tools, along the optimal toolpaths, regardless of the direction or stepover of the scanning operation. Computer modifications such as scaling allow for quick global changes to the model without any need to alter the physical original.

Some of the benefits of using advanced reverse engineering techniques are:

• Reduce time & efforts for transferring CAD information from shop floor to Parent CAD systems.
• Reverse Engineering products and tools for which incomplete data is available.
• Improve Quality of the products by doing virtual to physical part comparison and doing modification thus achieve zero defects.
• Finger print the dies and moulds so as to maintain uniformity between shop floor and CAD models.
• Reduce the complete cycle time within the Design and R & D department.
• Using software as Data Bridge for transferring and cleaning the electronic files from different CAD systems.