Reverse engineering

Reverse engineering involves returning an existing product to a plan with design elements. To do this, the existing physical product is digitised by a scanner. The resulting 3D model is initially available as a mesh model. This mesh model (facet body) is then converted into a CAD volume model by reverse engineering, which corresponds very precisely to the physical model. This means that the model can then be further developed in CAD software or used in production.

Prerequisites for use

To be able to use reverse engineering yourself, you first need a 3D scanner that can capture the geometry of the physical object in sufficiently high resolution. Furthermore, software is required, e.g. Siemens NX, with which the reverse engineering can be carried out.

Application examples

Historical components
Components that were still manufactured on the basis of drawings and of which no 3D models are available cannot be easily reproduced. Therefore, it makes sense to digitise these components by reverse engineering so that they can be reproduced on the basis of a CAD model on modern production lines.

Car body clay model
Models of a new car design are first made of clay. The model is then digitised and subjected to reverse engineering. The resulting CAD model can then be further processed.

Series production from prototypes
Prototypes are often created physically. If the prototype is then to be transferred to series production, a CAD model of it is usually required. This is where reverse engineering comes into play again.