Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) depends on Computer Aided Design (CAD) to drive today's machine tools. Without electronic CAD documents (CAD files), it's difficult to produce the electronic CAM documents needed by modern computer driven manufacturing.
While CAD files are intrinsic to today's design processes, these files are often unavailable to manufacturers and downstream designers. Why?
- Product designers/manufacturers are often reluctant to share.
- If I want to design a GPS bracket to fit the dashboard of my car, I can't expect the automotive manufacturer to email me the CAD files for my car.
- I've even seen customers reluctant to provide CAD files to their own vendors, providing paper drawings instead either because of Regulatory red tape or because the customer fears that the files reveal too much about their design process.
- The CAD files may not exist.
- Most, but not all, of modern design processes utilize CAD; maybe the designer preferred an old fashioned drafting board or maybe a paper napkin from his or her favorite watering hole.
- The design may predate CAD. In the early 1980's, there were few computers, even fewer CAD systems and CAM was just starting so most of the CAD systems didn't produce CAM compatible files. By the early 1990's, computers and CAD systems were more prevalent, but not ubiquitous, and there were still significant CAM compatibility issues.
- The design may have been physically modified; the designer a machinist or hobbyist that welded or machined new features to an existing part.
- The origin of the design may be unknown; perhaps all we have is the part in our hand.
The lack of electronic CAD documents for CAM is a major incentive for the explosive growth in Reverse Engineering technology. If all we have is a part (or a dashboard), 3D laser scanners and modern Reverse Engineering software are the fastest and most accurate means to create CAD/CAM files. Even when drawings exist, if there's a sample part, it's usually faster to Reverse Engineer the sample than it is to create the CAD models from the paper drawings.
It wasn't very long ago that office document copiers, scanners, fax machines and printers were rare; reserved for special rooms in large company office complexes. It won't be very long before 3D laser scanners and Reverse Engineering systems are nearly as commonplace in manufacturing and design companies as today's multifunction copy/scanner/fax/printer devices found in nearly every office and in many homes.
Tom Waits, owner/manager of Reverse Austin, a company that specializes in Reverse Engineering, has over thirty years of experience in manufacturing, design, quality control and FDA regulatory compliance.
 return to article index
|
 |
|
