WHITE PAPER

How 3D Scanning Speeds

Up Reverse Engineering
Michael Alba | Subject Leader | Engineering.com | 11/29/2018

2023. Industries such as automotive, aerospace

& defense, and manufacturing have started using
3D metrology for design modification of actual
objects to produce customized cars, spare parts,
and produce parts whose production had been
discontinued. High precision, faster product
analysis, and the ability to make changes in
the original product are the major drivers of 3D
metrology market for reverse engineering.”
If 3D scanning is seeing increased adoption
for reverse engineering, it’s important to
The FARO® 8-Axis Design ScanArm 2.5C features a rotary plate for understand what the technology is and how
faster, more accurate scans. (Image courtesy of FARO Technologies.) it works in the real world. In this white paper,
we take a look at 3D scanning in more detail,
As 3D scanning advances, new fields are finding with a particular focus on how one company,
applications for the technology, from more Mammoth Machine + Design, deploys the
traditional metrology to product development, technology to reverse engineer unique parts for
digital museum archiving and even design for large-scale manufacturing equipment. In one
the architecture, engineering and construction instance, the firm was able to use 3D scanning to
industry. Reverse engineering, in particular, has supply a reverse engineered spare part to bring a
been completely revolutionized by the ability to mass production operation back online in
capture data from the physical world and create just 24 hours.
3D models from that information, which can then
be manipulated and brought back into the physical
world using modern fabrication technologies.
3D Scanning: A Broad Overview
This application is experiencing growth in terms There are a variety of 3D scanning technologies on
of widespread adoption. According to market the market, ranging in terms of cost and capability.
research firm MarketsandMarkets, “The 3D Photogrammetry is perhaps the most affordable
metrology market for reverse engineering is option, but also the least precise, converting a
expected to grow at a high rate between 2017 and series of photographs of an object or area into a 3D

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model via advanced software algorithms. While scan a car door, for instance, and capture the
photogrammetry can reconstruct 3D data from more organic, molded aspects of the door. A
photos, it lacks the precision seen with the two touch probe could then be used to capture data
predominant methods used in the professional associated with the door’s machined parts. This
space: structured light and laser scanners. information could ultimately be used to create
products such as replacement components for
a car that might be out of production, or items
personalized specifically for the customer.
McKinsey & Company notes that the automotive
aftermarket space is quickly evolving, in part
driven by new digital technologies. “Digital-
related revenues will triple to a share in sales of
almost 20%,” a 2017 report explains. The report
A structured light 3D scanner projects patterned white light onto an goes on to note that “80% of players say they
object. (Images courtesy of Open Technologies.)
are currently not well prepared – mainly due to a
Structured light scanners project patterned blue lack of strategic focus and skills and insufficient
or white LED light onto an object while additional digitization resources.”
sensors detect edges to determine the object’s
shape. Trigonometric triangulation is performed
to determine the location of these features in
space. Laser scanners similarly use trigonometric
triangulation, projecting a laser line or multiple
lines onto an object and calculating the lasers’
reflection from the object using attached sensors.
Whereas structured light scanners are automated
and can have higher resolution and accuracy,
they are limited by the impact of ambient light
and can potentially be more expensive. Laser line
scanners, combined with an articulated arm, are
less sensitive to lighting in the scan environment,
are easy to use and can be more affordable. A laser scanner is used to capture data from an engine block, supported
using a rotational plate. (Image courtesy of FARO Technologies.)
Arm-mounted laser scanners are typically best
for capturing smooth, organic geometry up to a The report highlights the importance of digital
certain level of detail. Further precision can be technologies, such as the Internet of Things, but
gained through the use of a hard probe, which neglects the potential that 3D printing has for
can capture precise geometric features, as well reverse engineering and aftermarket applications.
as sharp machined lines. 3D scan data can be converted into a 3D model
that can then be 3D printed as a part with an
Using the technology described above, designers optimized strength-to-weight ratio or with a
in industries such as the automotive space can customer’s monogram embedded into the object.
reverse engineer car parts to create custom
components for aftermarket applications. With Moreover, the ability to 3D print an object from
a laser or structured light scanner, one could scan data can greatly improve turnaround time,
as demonstrated by Mammoth Machine + Design

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How 3D Scanning Speeds Up Reverse Engineering

in North Carolina. The company has shown Bahar described his firm’s customers as some
that, not only can scan data be used to reverse of the largest producers in their industries,
engineer parts for customers in the business of such as plastic cup, plastic lid and cabling
large-scale manufacturing, but that it can do manufacturers—products that are essentially
so quickly. omnipresent in the modern world.

Aiding Large-Scale Manufacturers

Mammoth Machine + Design services original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that perform
automation and large-scale manufacturing.
To help customers repair or retrofit existing
equipment, Mammoth uses a series of CNC
machines and 3D printers, as well as a FARO®
Edge ScanArm with HD Laser Line Probe for
3D scanning.

Scan data captured by Bahar during the McLaren scan.

George Brinzey, head of sales for Mammoth,

explained that the company began with the
idea of aiding businesses with their product
development. Along the way, however, the firm
began to realize that large manufacturers simply
didn’t have the capability to service their own
equipment.
“Through some interactions with some of the
larger manufacturers, we noticed that tool rooms
Mammoth CEO Ali Bahar 3D scanning the hood
of a McLaren automobile.
are disappearing,” Brinzey said. “Businesses are
not investing in top-notch equipment like they
“Our customers will come to us with obsolete once were. Machinists are very difficult to find.
parts or broken parts, or just parts that they It just seems like a dying market within larger
need reverse engineered and recreated in a manufacturing is having the ability to support
different material,” Ali Bahar, Mammoth CEO, precision manufacturing to support the actual
explained. “We’ve gone as quickly as six hours machines that make their products.”
in reproducing parts, as part of our emergency
response. When our customer has a component
and the OEM simply cannot replace the part Tackling Mammoth Jobs
and their line is down, we’ll use 3D scanning with 3D Scanning
technology to reverse engineer the part with such
high tolerances as to be able to repeat them on The first piece of equipment the company bought
our precision machines.” was a 3D scanner, which Bahar came to rely
upon in his previous job at an engineering firm,

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where he would perform reverse engineering for Once the part has been made, Mammoth can
such names as Lockheed Martin and Northrop then scan the final component with the ScanArm
Grumman. With the FARO ScanArm, Mammoth and match it against the digital model or the
is able to recreate object details down to an original scan to qualify the part using Geomagic
accuracy of a few hundredths of a millimeter. The Control X. Items can be further qualified through
tool is used to capture free-form surfaces before first article inspection, in which a part is tested
a probe is used for higher precision details. at each stage of the production process for
The 3D scanner not only helps with the design the machine that Mammoth has repaired or
of replacement parts, but it also actually plays a retrofitted.
role in aiding the initial job setup. If a large object
needs to be placed on a table and oriented in A Mammoth Job in Record Time
a particular direction, Mammoth engineers will
scan a portion of the object, such as the bottom It’s during Mammoth’s “emergency response”
surface. That rough data can then be used to jobs that the benefits of 3D scanning are truly
model a fixture that can be 3D printed and hold demonstrated. A particularly illustrative example
the part in place while the main scanning job arose when the firm was tasked with recreating
is performed. a 150mm-diameter die for a large wire drawing
station for Southwire Company.
Southwire is a leading producer of electrical
wire and cable made from a variety of materials
and for a variety of applications, as well as
rod casting machinery and a number of other
OEM products. Upon receiving a new piece of
equipment, Southwire’s crew realized that the die
for the wire drawing station was undersized and
unusable, after possible damage in transport.
The machine’s installer had already left for
the day and wouldn’t be able to return to the
facility for months, leaving Southwire without
production capabilities.
A CAD model of a manufacturing component reconstructed via 3D
scanning. (Image courtesy of Mammoth Machine + Design.)

For Mammoth, the traditional 3D scanning

workflow moves as follows: once a part is oriented
on the firm’s large granite table for scanning,
Mammoth engineers will grab 3D data with the
ScanArm before using the probe to capture the
object’s key features, such as hole locations.
This data is brought into Geomagic Design X to
recreate the part as a solid model. From there, On the right, a plastic component that was too small for Southwire’s
the team will create engineering drawings and operations. On the left, a machined aluminum equivalent that met the
proper specs. (Image courtesy of Mammoth Machine + Design.)
pursue traditional subtractive manufacturing or
3D printing as needed.

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How 3D Scanning Speeds Up Reverse Engineering

To get a new die as quickly as possible, the In total, Bahar estimated that the whole job took
company turned to Mammoth Machine + Design. about 31 hours, including the revision. To scan all
Mammoth showed up at the facility and picked of the parts, however, took just one hour.
up the unusable die to transport the tool back to
its headquarters.
“This was really a case of on-the-fly “I think it would have been impossible
project management,” Bahar recalled. “I without the ScanArm. If we were to use a
was communicating with our engineers on HandySCAN or off-the-shelf scanner, maybe
the way back from the plant to get materials and it would have taken six or seven hours.”
prep the shop. It was a very dynamic shift in what
Ali Bahar,
we do from day to day. It was a fire drill, for sure.
CEO, Mammoth Machine + Design,
With an emergency response project like that, it’s
all hands on deck. Everyone pretty much drops
their long-term projects and whoever is project
lead starts to make the calls.” The Future of Reverse
Engineering
The power of 3D scanning and new manufacturing
technologies is only just now beginning to be
felt. In instances such as those demonstrated by
Mammoth Machine + Design, those tools have
shown they can deliver products and services in
record time, but new design methods are also
being developed that may introduce an entirely
new range of benefits and capabilities to rapidly
produce parts.

Bahar sitting with several manufactured parts and a FARO Edge

ScanArm.
Once the die was at the Mammoth shop, it was
3D scanned using the FARO ScanArm, with the
team capturing all of the key points necessary for
mounting it to the new wire drawing equipment
within hundredths of a millimeter. The die scan
was then qualified with a Southwire engineer
before he left the facility for the day. In the background, a metal aerospace bracket produced with traditional
design and manufacturing processing. In the foreground, a topology
Machining the die overnight “took every bit of optimized, 3D-printed part.
12 hours,” according to Bahar. The following
morning, the die was delivered to Southwire, In particular, generative design and topology
where it was installed and tested, revealing the optimization are now possible with 3D printing.
need to make a minor change. At this point, the By selectively removing certain areas in a part,
die was brought back to Mammoth to make an engineer can reduce its overall weight while
the adjustment, but the equipment was up and
running by the end of the following day.
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maintaining or even increasing its strength. Often, such methods of topology optimization can be
based on organic geometries seen in nature, such as the microscopic porous structure found in bones.
Such features are clearly beneficial to industries such as aerospace and automotive, where light
weighting is key to reducing costs and improving speed. However, topology optimization may also
reduce material usage, and therefore costs, in any number of applications.
In order to determine the design with the best strength-to-weight ratio, a designer will most likely
have to rely on some form of simulation software that will be able to calculate part stresses. Then,
with generative design tools, it’s possible to create a wide range of design iterations that meet the
necessary criteria using artificial intelligence algorithms. After a series of choices have been created,
the best option for the job can be selected.
Most geometries created with generative design and topology optimization cannot be fabricated using
traditional manufacturing tools, such as injection molding or CNC machining. Due to the additive
nature of 3D printing, in which material is deposited or fused layer by layer, it is generally the only
technology capable of producing these unique shapes.
With this in mind, it’s not difficult to imagine that these new design and manufacturing tools will be
combined with ever-advancing 3D scanning technology to revolutionize reverse engineering. One can
envision a firm like Mammoth not only 3D scanning and fabricating a replacement part for a customer,
but also improving the strength-to-weight ratio of the component before 3D printing it.
3D scanning and other evolving technologies, then, coexist in a symbiotic relationship. As we
see one improve, we’ll naturally see others advance alongside it, ultimately improving the entire
ecosystem overall.

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© 2019 FARO Technologies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This white paper is for informational purposes only. FARO makes no warranties–express or implied–in this white paper.
FARO is a registered trademark of FARO Technologies, Inc. in the United States and other countries. REV 04/01/2019