The key uses that are involved with industrial CT scanning include reverse engineering applications, part failure analysis, metrology assembly analysis, and flaw detection for complex parts. 

Why is Industrial CT Scanning so Important?

Industrial CT Scanning provides the ability to reveal hidden areas of any part, without any cutting of the part. While Traditional 3D Scanning requires you to cut parts to get to hidden areas, Industrial Scanning eliminates that hassle. Instead, you can cut the part in the digital world and see inside to get all the measurements. This is due to the x-rays that the CT Scanning omits to also scan the inside of the whole part along with the outside.

Benefits of Industrial CT Scanning

• • • No cutting to see the hidden areas of any part. CT scanning allows you to see both the inside and out without ever affecting the part
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    • Scanning of all internal and external components with computed tomography systems
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    • No need for complex fixturing!
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    • Provides new insights for areas once invisible with traditional 3D scanning
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    • Highest-resolution 3D point clouds or STL’s

Traditional scanning is usually a combination of multiple scans joined together in a mesh model. This could lead to errors when joining the scans together. Thus leading to a less accurate model. CT scanning captures the entire part in a single scan leaving little to no error in the final scan.

Looking for Industrial CT Scanning Services? Contact us or check out our CT scanning services page!

Different Inspection and Analysis Techniques 

Different Inspection and analysis techniques include part-to-part comparisons, assembly, and defect analysis, part-to-CAD comparisons, and generation of CAD data. The CAD data that is generated can be used for reverse engineering, production part approval, and geometric dimensioning and tolerance analysis. 

More Information

If you would like to read more about the machines that are able to complete CT scans, we encourage you to look into the different machines that Zeiss offers.

We are conveniently located in the metro Detroit area of Michigan.  Please contact us with any questions you have regarding your CT scanning project via our contact form or call us at (248) 853-7700.

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However, it is not easy to develop new solutions in the technology field because one aspect is, that it is very time-consuming. Then at this point, 3d innovations come to the rescue. With many enhancements in the 3D industry, reverse engineering and 3D scanning will transform the production methods with 3D scanning reverse engineering.

Please contact us with any questions you have regarding our scanning and engineering services via our contact form or call us at (248) 853-7700.

What is reverse engineering?

Reverse engineering is basically a process that helps a user simply imitate the object or anything with the help of 3D printing and scanning. This technological advancement offers a lot; with reverse engineering, you can scan the 3-dimensional object and convert it into a CAD file. 3D printing of this file results in an exact copy of that object.

Machinery failure

It is very common, for industries to have to deal with machinery failure, and since spare parts are not easily available, it is hard for them to import them from other places, or sometimes there’s no availability of parts; reverse engineering helps here as it can make an exact replica of that spare part in a very short time and save your finances.

First, we have to thoroughly study the part; this means we need to get to the root of that spare part, and how it was designed and made; after the research, it will be easy to take the measurements of the spare part.

We have to ensure that from which place in the machine is this part from if it is from the assembly. We have to be very careful while designing the piece so that it fits exactly and there are fewer chances of malfunction in the machinery. But, that’s something we ensure with our 3D scanning reverse engineering.

3D scanning and reverse engineering services

Once the process is complete and we have the design of the object or the spare part, the part will be scanned with the help of 3D scanning, and important measures will be taken to ensure the exact dimensions and nature of the piece to get it done with the 3D printing.

The part will simply go through the 3D printing device and you will have an exact copy. Applications 3D provides you with 3D reverse engineering services with quality not compromised; with this, many other services Applications 3D offers; it is your one-stop shop if you want to get your 3D printing or scanning done. Along with this, they have professionals who ensure no flaw with the designs and measurements and others. Client fulfillment is the topmost priority for Applications 3D.

If you have any interest in our 3D scanning and reverse engineering services, please contact us.

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Evolution of scanning and printing

4th industrial revolution is about to end in an era where digital and physical technologies alter how companies consider, produce, design, and do everything. There is a huge demand for sustainable solutions, and people going for customized products resulted in an increase in 3D printing products. Technological innovations in the field have split the costs while delivering twice the performance. As the 3D printing sector moves beyond prototyping, the use of this technology, particularly in supply chains, is becoming increasingly widespread.

As we see, people are going for more 3D printing options; many companies are producing high-performance 3D printing technologies with over 50x more productivity that improved 3D scanning services too.

Benefits of 3D printing

The 3D printing process brings a wide range of benefits if you compare it with traditional manufacturing methods. It can be related to the designs, time-saving, cost-efficient, and others.

Design flexibility

Any complex, difficult designs can be easily printed through 3D printing technology, which other traditional processes cannot do. What happens is before 3D printing technology, methods were restricted. Hence it would a lot of your time to come up with a complex design. With 3D printing services, we can make any intricate designs. Applications 3D provides you with all the benefits, including 3D printing services, scanning services, CAD services, product design services and others.

Instant printing

You can have a print-on-demand option which is a big plus. This is because it doesn’t require a lot of space to stock up in the inventory. Traditional manufacturing processes did not have this technology. Thus they were unable to save the cost, time because it used the bulk printing method required or not.

Cost-efficient

As 3D printing services require only a one-step manufacturing process, it saves a lot of your time, and so, your cost for getting different machines for the manufacturing purpose gets cut off. They can operate automatically like you don’t need an operator to look after it every time. It cuts your cost on material as this process uses only a certain amount of fabric required for manufacturing.

Applications 3D,  uses these technologies to provide its clients the best 3D printing services and 3D scanning services.

Please contact us with any questions you have regarding our 3D printing services via our contact form or call us at (248) 853-7700.

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Blow molds are used for mainly containers, toys, or other molded objects that need to contain a volume of air or liquid in them. They only mold the outer shapes by blowing a hollow tube of molten plastic, which gets molded by the cavity shapes of the blow mold. Usually, there are two halves of a blow mold, which join together at the parting line of the mold, and have a pinch edge, which cuts off the excessive resin material during the molding process. It is very common for companies to need blow mold reverse engineering to redesign or recreate an old mold.

Due to the repetitive process, a high amount of wear and tear is caused on the mold. This results in rejected parts, or too much material leaking out at the parting lines.

Our customer, who is a premier mold maker and production house in the country, has many such molds which do not have the exact CAD data. The CAD data is used to cut new tools or to repair an existing tool by welding, and re-cutting specific parts of the tool.

Usually, the smaller-sized molds are shipped to our location. These are then first 3D scanned with high-resolution white light 3d scanning. This process measures millions of surface points, very accurately. The points are then meshed together into a polygonal model, which is made up of millions of small triangles. These triangles join the measured points. See image below.

Reverse Engineering Process

The STL model of the mold is then used for blow mold reverse engineering in further downstream CAD programs. The dents or deformities in existing molds are cleaned and smoothed over. New surfaces are created, trimmed, and stitched together into 3D Solid models. This detailed surface modeling results in engineering-grade models. These are then exported out in various formats, such as .stp , .igs, .catprt, x_t, .sldprt, etc.

Finally, these new CAD models are delivered to our customer. Then the CAD can be used on a CNC milling machine to cut brand-new molds.

Please contact us with any questions you have regarding our mold work via our contact form or call us at (248) 853-7700.

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The bones were all scanned with non-contact and no-destruction methods. Furthermore, the deeper cavities were able to be captured without spraying the part at all. Once all the parts are scanned they can now be prepared for 3D printing. This includes cleaning up the scans as well as converting the scan data into a single solid model. Once the single solid model file is created the parts can be 3D scanned. The resolution of the scan is very high so how the 3D print turns out strictly depends on the print quality.

Organic 3D scanning is important because it can preserve artifacts or in this case, become educational tools that will last a lifetime.

Below are some more CAD files that were generated from the bone 3d scans such as the green one above. Also pictured is an in-house 3D print of one of the bone pieces that was scanned. Finally, below all of those images are the actual horse bones that were sent to us to capture high-resolution 3D scans of. 

Some of these models are available for download and print here.

If you have any questions regarding our organic 3D scanning contact us via our contact form or call us at (248) 853-7700.

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An important step in the product development cycle is the prototyping of a newly designed part, so that it can be reviewed for fit and function. The color and material properties of this prototype can be different than the the final molded or stamped part, but it provides the CAD designer with information about the validity of the shape and size of the part.

With a build volume of 11.5 x 7.5 x 5.8 in, the Stratasys Objet30 3D printer has the ability to print many small parts at once. Each layer is put down at roughly the same amount of time no matter how many parts are being printed. This allows print times to be much shorter than similar 3D printers in this price range. All CAD formats can be used, like .stp, .igs, .stl,. .obj, .x_t etc.

The Objet 30 is a perfect combination of speed , accuracy and versatility in a small package . It creates semi-functional prototypes of consumer goods, toys, automotive/aerospace parts, medical devices, casting patterns, inventions and others. Check out one of our 3D print jobs here.

With its ability to deliver special properties such as transparency, flexibility and even biocompatibility, the ObJet 3D Printer can tackle any print job. This includes precision tooling and specialized production parts. It features 0.1 mm accuracy for parts that need to fit exactly. As well as .028 mm layer heights for capturing every detail when needed.

The Objet30 Pro comes with Rigid Opaque materials, and specialized photopolymers. It also supports transparent, high-temperature and simulated polypropylene materials. It gives you the power to create realistic models with specialized properties quickly and easily. Furthermore the printer is well known for smooth and accurate parts that are created from diverse materials. These materials are determined by the customers needs.

How it Works

 It works similar to an inkjet printer, with the exception that the printer lays down layers of material on a bed, and the UV light sources immediately cures and hardens the material. The soft gel like support material ( for supporting complex shapes) can be washed away after the printing is completed.

Learn more on our 3d printing page.

Specification Sheet

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November 13, 2014

Applications 3D presented its equipment, products, and capabilities at the Amcon show in Novi, Michigan. The show is a manufacturing trade show where companies from all over come to show what they offer. This was another successful Amcon show, the booth was very popular for the technical personnel, as well as people with other diverse backgrounds. Some of the exciting technologies displayed at the show were: 3d scanning and digitizing – which included white light/blue light and laser scanners, reverse engineering tools, software and services, 3d inspection capabilities and products, CAD, product design capabilities, and more. Applications 3D had an overwhelming response at the show, with quite a number of customers providing new RFQs.

These shows are very important to attend. That is because they are an excellent way for marketing and networking. Another key reason to attend these shows is for research. They allow you to directly see your competitor’s offerings. Thus, giving you the ability to stay ahead of the competition. There are also booths to allow you to view new technology that may be applicable to your company.  We hope you have the opportunity to view us and our offerings at our booth next year!

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Sheet metal stamped parts are notoriously hard to manufacture. This is due to various problems like spring back, wrinkles, tears in the sheet, etc. As well, once they are made, the traditional process was to clamp them down in a checking fixture and check/inspect each feature. For example holes and slots would be done one by one on a CMM machine. Further, this could require manual movement of the CMM probes all over the areas of interest, and manually measuring and inspecting the part. This is very time-consuming and laborious work.

The advent of the 3D Scanning and Inspection process

Accomplishing the same task with 3D white light scanning, we are able to capture millions of measurement points. The resulting 3D digital inspection ensures substantial time savings in the quality control, inspection, design, and development cycles. And the 3-dimensional scanned data covers each feature on the part more thoroughly than the CMMs could do. Some of our unique capabilities include 3d investigation and study of dimensions across any part. This is done by examining the 3-dimensional measurements of the scan data in a 3D Metrology software. With detailed color plots, boundary analysis, GD&T callouts, three-dimensional measurements, and feature analysis, and lots more, 3D scanning with digital inspection is the way to go.

For further questions, you may contact us here or call 248-853-7700.

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What Is A CMM Machine?

Coordinate Measuring Machines are electromechanical devices designed for measuring coordinates of the surface area of an object. They are frequently used in the inspection process of manufacturing a product. To obtain measurements the CMM generally uses a touch probe to digitize the coordinate locations of the product being measured. Some capabilities that you might find in a modern CMM would be CAD model import/export, measurement capabilities that are both programmable or automated, imaging, and digitizing capabilities. CMM’s are expensive initially, but they have a long life where the unit itself is concerned. Some parts or software might need replacing, but the actual machine should prove to be an asset for decades. Some different types of CMM’s you might expect to find are Gantry, Vertical, Horizontal, Bridge, and Non-Contact.

Improvements to Coordinate Measuring Machines

Many upgrades and improvements being developed for CMM’s aren’t making changes to the hardware of the device so much as to the software. Manufacturers of coordinate measuring machines are now concentrating on the shift in most industries to a widely paper-free workplace. This means that consumers for these machines are looking for them to have a capability for electronic storage of data. There have also been many improvements to the accuracy of the measurements that these machines calculate. Also, many companies are now striving to manufacture CMM’s that utilize video and laser technology as opposed to the touch probe methods being used in most CMM’s developed in the past.

While the basic CMM still looks roughly the same as a machine that was produced two decades ago, don’t let the lack of aesthetic improvement fool you. Coordinate Measuring Machines are an important technology in the manufacturing business. Improvements to the software, accuracy, and even in some cases the hardware of the device are making sure that these machines will still prove a worthy investment for years to come.

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