ME 16021

UNIT II

CAD & REVERSE

ENGINEERING

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• Basic Concept
• Digitization techniques
• Model Reconstruction
• Data Processing for Additive Manufacturing Technology
• CAD model preparation
• Part Orientation and support generation
• Model Slicing
• Tool path Generation

• Software for Additive Manufacturing Technology

• MIMICS, MAGICS
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 CO2

2. Upon completion of the course the student will be able to

understand the digitizing techniques and slicing concepts
for preparing a CAD model for additive manufacturing

Prepared by Dr.K.S.Badrinathan 3
 Data Conversion &
Transmission

Checking &
Preparing

Post Processing

Building
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 Considerations that have to be taken into account
• orientation of part
• need for supports
• difficult-to-build part structure such as thin walls
• small slots
• holes
• overhanging elements.
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 Direct Translation
• Read in native format

 Indirect Translation
• Read in neutral format
 DXF (Data eXchange Format)
 IGES (Initial Graphics Exchange Specification)
 STEP (STandard for Exchange of Product Data)
PDES (Product Data Exchange using STEP)
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• 3D model is converted into STL file format

• ‘3D Systems’ pioneers the STereoLithography system

• STL approximates the surfaces of the model using tiny

triangular facets.

• Small facets  high quality surface

• supports are converted to a separate STL file

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• STL files may be faulty

• Problems - generation of unwanted shell-punctures

(holes, gaps, cracks, etc)

• corrected manually assisted by specialized software such

as MAGICS

• AM system’s computer slices the model into cross-

sections
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• Determination the building orientation,

• spatial assortments,

• arrangement with other parts,

• necessary support

• structures and slice parameters

• 3D Systems - Partman Program- setting parameters -SLA

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• Fully automated

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• Cleaning - removal of excess parts (SLA)

• Curing : UV treatment etc.

• Sanding & Painting : improve the surface finish or

aesthetic appearance

• Additional machining : drilling, tapping and milling to

add necessary features to the parts

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• Reverse engineering, widely noted as an effective cost saving
tool, is a systematic approach used to analyze the
dimensions, contours, and design of an existing device so
that one may derive potential improvements to the device or
perform competitive benchmarking to further understand
the product.

• Reverse Engineering (RE) is the process of generating a

Computer Aided Design (CAD) model from an existing
physical part.
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• Manufacture of service components after
discontinuation of the product line

• Redesign of an existing design which lacks adequate

product data documentation

• Corrupt data file or loss of CAD design for a product

• Generation of cheaper alternate products as a substitute

for monopoly products
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• Reverse engineering is accomplished in three steps:
• Part digitizing
• Feature extraction or data segmentation
• CAD or part modelling

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• Co-ordinate Measuring Machines (CMM)

• CMM gives physical representation of a three-

dimensional Cartesian coordinate system

• CMM measures the surface of the object using a contact

probe, a highly sensitive pressure sensing device that is
activated by any contact with an object.

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• CMM consists of:
• CNC machine
• Scanning probe
• 3-axis simultaneous motion drivers and
counters
• Personal computer

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• The probe stylus picks up the signal when contacted with
the object or workpiece and transfers it to the digital
signal processor and counter.

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• Active techniques: structured lighting & spot ranging, recover depth
information after a light or ultrasonic source illuminates the object
• Both methods cast a beam onto the object surface and then inspect the
reflected beam using a sensor that is placed coaxial to the source.
• The location of the source gives the two coordinate measurements of
the surface point while the analysis of the reflected beam gives the third
dimension.
• The third coordinate is determined either by calculating the phase
difference between the incident and reflected light or by the time taken
for the light to reflect back from the surface of the part.

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• Contact - accuracy and quality of surface finish are
good
• Advantages of Contact type over non-contact type:
Treatment of surfaces to prevent reflections is not
required
Vertical faces can be accurately scanned
Data density is not fixed and is automatically
controlled by the shape of the component 24
Time-consuming manual editing of the data to
remove stray points is not required

Post processing for cutting can be faster as

surface offsetting may not be required

Very tiny details can be accurately replicated

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• Scanned points need to be re-sampled or reassembled
through interpolation.

• Interpolation is a method of constructing new data

points within the range of a discrete set of known data
points

• Cubic spline interpolation

• Linear interpolation
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• The measured points form irregular grids or meshes

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• To create a 3D model the scanned-in point data
from the physical model has to be converted
from:
• Point to curve
• Curve to surface
• Surface to solid.

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• Geometric modeling techniques
• Wire frame - no surface, no volume
• Surface - no volume
• Solid - has both surface & volume

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• RPI (Rapid Prototyping Interface) ,1991

• LEAF (Layer Exchange Ascii Format), 1992

• CLI (Common Layer Interface), 1994

• STL (STereoLithography), 1996

• LMI (Layer Manufacturing Interface), 1997

• STL is considered de facto standard for interfacing CAD

and RP systems
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• A STL file approximates the surface of the 3D CAD model
by triangles, called Tessellation

• Number of triangles cannot be increased indefinitely

• The resolution of STL tiles can be controlled during their

generation in a 3D CAD system through tessellation
parameters

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• ASCII : Readable & hence can be corrected; large file size

• Binary : Unreadable; file size is small

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• Consists of an unordered list of triangular facets
representing the outside skin of an object

• The triangular facets are described by a set of x, y, z

coordinates for each of the three vertices and a unit
normal vector with x, y, z to indicate which side of the
facet is an object

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Solid Cube

Facet normal 0.00000e+00 0.00000e+00 -1.00000e+00 (1)

Outer loop

Vertex 0 50 0

Vertex 50 0 0

Vertex 0 0 0

End loop

End facet 36
Chord Height : This parameter specifies the maximum
distance between a chord and surface
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Thick Slicing : leads to stair-step effect
Thin Slicing : reduces stair-step effect but increases part
building time
Adaptive slicing: slice thickness is based on the local slope
of the part
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• Involves considering different process specific constraints

• Factors to be considered:
• Maximize surface smoothness
• Maximize accuracy of important features
• Minimize build time
• Minimize cost

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• User specified critical surfaces: if the surfaces are planes,
they have to be placed such that their normal point in
the build direction i.e. they are horizontal and upward
facing

• Coordinate systems: modeling is done such that, the

orientation of the axes may represent the most logical
build direction i.e. Z axis points in the build direction

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• Holes: to avoid stair-stepping inside holes and to avoid
hard to remove support, holes are to be placed vertically

• Shells: These are orientated so that the concave part of

the shell faces upwards in order to minimize internal
supports.

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• Need to improve surface appearance:
 Exhibition quality models
 Tooling
 Master pattern for indirect tooling

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• Wet and dry sanding

• Sand blasting

• Coating

• Spraying

• Machining

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• Vector-by-vector process

• Integral processes

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• Every layer is made in an incremental method.

• Each contour path is formed from a set of individual

vectors

• Laser-based and extrusion-based processes (SLA,FDM)

• Tool path is generated from a CAD model which is saved

in the STL file format

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• Tool path generation from a CAD model includes vector
generation through intersecting a XY plane and STL
facets and then by sorting individual vectors.

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• A complete layer of prototype is made in one step

• Solid Ground Curing (LOM, SGC)

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• Materialise Mimics is an image processing software for 3D design
and modeling, developed by Materialise NV, a Belgian company
specialized in additive manufacturing software and technology for
medical, dental and additive manufacturing industries.

• Materialise Mimics is used to create 3D surface models from

stacks of 2D image data. These 3D models can then be used for a
variety of engineering applications.

• Mimics is an acronym for Materialise Interactive Medical Image

Control System.
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• Import DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in
Medicine) , JPEG, TIFF, BMP, x-ray or raw image data

• Easily and quickly create accurate 3D models

• Perform dedicated anatomical analysis

• Virtually simulate surgery

• Export 3D models for 3D analysis, FEA meshing, design

or 3D Printing
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• View STL Files

• Communicate Efficiently

• Verify Part Printability

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END OF UNIT - II

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