Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2002) 19:186191

2002 Springer-Verlag London Limited

Development of an Integrated Laser-Based Reverse Engineering
and Machining System
J. Chow, T. Xu, S.-M. Lee and K. Kengskool
Department of Industrial Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33196, USA
Reverse engineering technology plays an important role in a
variety of manufacturing applications. It signicantly reduces
the production lead time and the costs of the part duplication
processes. This paper evaluates the feasibility of using reverse
engineering and concurrent engineering methods with data
obtained from state-of-the-art laser scanning to remanufacture
complex geometrical parts. Two aircraft structural components
were evaluated in this study: a forward latch tting of a C
141 and a leading edge rib of an F-15. The rst phase of this
project, accuracy characterisation of a reverse engineering
system, demonstrated that laser scanning and CAD model
reconstruction can duplicate aircraft structural components
accurately and efciently, within a tolerance of 0.127 mm
(0.005 in). The second phase of this project, development of
a concurrent engineering system, showed that an integrated
reverse engineering and CAM machining system can make the
entire remanufacturing process more automatic and efcient,
further reducing part turnaround time.
Keywords: CAD/CAM integration; Concurrent engineering;
Laser scanning; Reverse engineering
1. Introduction
Conventional engineering transforms engineering concepts and
models into real parts, whereas in reverse engineering real
parts are transformed into engineering models and concepts.
In reverse engineering, the surfaces of the part are digitised
using a laser scanner, a coordinate measuring machine, or other
digitising techniques [1]. The point data obtained are then used
to create a surface CAD model for the part. The reconstructed
CAD model serves as an input for subsequent design and
manufacturing functions, such as nite element analysis, pro-
cess planning, NC code generation, and xture design.
Capturing geometric shape and translating it into a CAD
model is a complex problem. To obtain an accurate model by
Correspondence and offprint requests to: Dr J. Chow, Department of
Industrial Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL
33196, USA. E-mail: choweng.u.edu
surface measurements through manual tools or a coordinate
measuring machine is very time consuming. To reduce this
effort, traditional methods usually sample only a limited num-
ber of points in a given area, which often results in a less
accurate model. Recent advances in laser-based scanning and
supporting technologies, which are capable of collecting a large
number of data points quickly, have provided a potential
solution to reverse engineering [2].
The objective of this work is to develop an integrated laser-
based reverse engineering and machining system that would
signicantly reduce CAD model creation and NC code gener-
ation times. It consists of two phases:
1. A feasibility study to verify the accuracy and efciency of
the laser-based reverse engineering system.
2. Integration of commercial reverse engineering software with
CAM software to make model creation and NC code gener-
ation more efcient and automatic.
To demonstrate that signicant savings can be achieved through
this new approach, aircraft structural components of compli-
cated shapes, as shown in Figs 1 and 2, were selected for
this study.
2. Feasibility Study (Phase 1)
The objective of this phase was to characterise the accuracy
and efciency of a reverse engineering system employing
Fig. 1. Forward latch tting (sample part).
A Reverse Engineering and Machining System 187
Fig. 2. Leading edge rib (sample part).
laser scanning technologies for aircraft structural component
manufacturing. Each sample part was digitised by a laser
scanner, and the scan data for each sample were converted
into a CAD surface/wireframe model using commercial reverse
engineering software, Surfacer [3]. A part was machined using
tool paths generated from each reconstructed CAD model by
commercial SmartCAM software. A comparison between the
duplicated and the original part was then made to determine
the accuracy and efciency of the entire approach.
Although reverse engineering technically does not include
the machining process as one of its stages, an evaluation of
the part dimensional accuracy after machining was nonetheless
performed. Machining provides a physical model which can
be compared easily to the original part, since better visualisa-
tion and measurement is possible. In addition, actual machining
of the parts using CAM software establishes a foundation for
the second phase of this project, i.e. reverse engineering and
CAM system integration.
The comparison results indicate that the accuracy of this
laser-based part duplication procedure is within 0.127 mm.
Excluding machining errors, the reconstructed CAD model can
be as accurate as 0.075 mm. In addition to determining the
errors of the part duplication process, the time savings achieved
were also estimated. Currently, it would take an experienced
CAD designer 60 h to create a CAD model based on blueprints
for the leading edge rib. In this study, both scanning and CAD
model reconstruction together for this part took a maximum
of 55 h. For the forward latch tting, the current practice
(blueprints method) and the laser-based reverse engineering
method require approximately the same amount of time to
complete the CAD model. Tables 1 and 2 shows the compari-
sons for both parts.
Based on these results, it can be concluded that the more
complicated the part geometry, the greater the reduction in
CAD model construction.
3. Reverse Engineering and CAM System
Integration (Phase 2)
To further reduce part turnaround time, it is required to auto-
mate some of the steps in this reverse engineering manufactur-
ing process. In this phase of the project, a prototype concurrent
Table 1. Comparison of reverse engineering and the current manual
approach for leading edge rib.
Process Leading edge rib (h) Leading edge rib (h)
laser-based reverse current blueprints
engineering approach
Scanning 45 0
CAD model 3050
a
60
construction
Total 3455 60
a
The CAD model reconstruction time depends on the operators familiarity
with the Surfacer software.
Table 2. Comparison of reverse engineering and the current blueprints
approach for forward latch tting.
Process Forward latch tting Forward latch tting
(h) (h)
laser-based reverse current blueprints
engineering approach
Scanning 34 0
CAD model 2030
a
25
construction
Total 2334 25
a
The CAD model reconstruction time depends on the operators familiarity
with the Surfacer software.
engineering system called reverse engineering and CAM system
integration (RECSI) was developed. The main objective was
to develop software modules to customise reverse engineering
processes and to generate NC codes for 3D wireframe and
surface models automatically. To achieve this goal, points,
lines, curves, and surfaces were extracted from the recon-
structed CAD model manually and converted into machining
features (such as surfaces, slopes, pockets, proles, and holes)
by extraction and interpretation functions written in Scoll
(Surfacers macro language). The machining feature model was
then input into the SmartCAM software to facilitate the auto-
matic generation of toolpath and NC code. A process planning
system (to generate the process planning model) was also
prototyped to support the tool-pathing automation.
Although the generation of the machining feature model and
process planning model still requires human interaction, the
subsequent CAM operations (toolpathing and NC code
generation) can be fully automated (see the owchart in Fig.
3). A description of the system design is given in the follow-
ing sections.
3.1 System Architecture
The integrated system, shown in Fig. 4, uses Surfacer to create
the machining feature model and the process planning model,
and then uses SmartCAM software to generate tool paths and
G-code automatically. The main feature of this system is that
all the human interactions required for the part duplication
process are performed within the Surfacer environment, as
188 J. Chow et al.
Fig. 3. RECSI procedure outline.
Fig. 4. RECSI owchart.
opposed to some in the Surfacer environment and some in the
SmartCAM environment (the approach of the rst phase study).
There is normally a large amount of human intervention
throughout these reverse engineering remanufacturing pro-
cedures, and many operations may have to be repeated (for
example, curve discontinuity detection and elimination), and
so the entire process is time consuming. For the system
developed in this project, some frequently repeated operations
for wireframe models (i.e. curves discontinuity elimination,
curve projection, curve reorientation) are executed by the pro-
grams automatically, and the user need only concentrate on
the feature model construction. After machining feature model
generation, the model will be converted into a data format
acceptable by SmartCAM. In this study, the two software
packages are linked by using IGES (initial graphics exchange
specications) as the input/output data format.
If the machining feature model consists solely of wireframe
model entities, such as points, lines, arcs, circles, and polylines,
then the feature model can be converted directly into Smart-
CAM macro format within Surfacer, instead of being translated
into the standard IGES format. However, NURBS surface
entities within Surfacer software have to be rst stored as an
IGES le and then input into SmartCAM for processing
because SmartCAMs macro has no such entity representation.
In addition to the machining feature model, the other infor-
mation required for NC code generation is provided by the
process planning module.
The machining information, cutting tool information, and
operation commands, etc. are provided by the user interactively,
and together form the process planning model in Surfacer. An
information interface then converts the process planning model
into Macro Command Language le, SmartCAMs Job le and
Machining/Template les for subsequent tool-path and NC
code generation. The rst two les can drive SmartCAM to
process the IGES le (containing the surface model recon-
structed in Surfacer) and the wireframe machining feature
data in the macro le to generate the toolpath and G-code
automatically. Machining/template les, then, translate G-code
into a special machine tool controller format.
3.2 Information Interface
An information interface is required to transfer the machining
feature and process planning data from Surfacer to SmartCAM
so that an integrated system can be realised. From Fig. 4, it
can be seen that there are two tasks that must be performed
in the Surfacer environment: machining feature modelling and
process planning. Consequently, there are two outputs, or two
kinds of data ow streaming into the SmartCAM environment.
One is machining feature geometric information; the other is
process planning information, which further branches into three
general types of data, i.e. the macro le, the job le, and the
combination of the machining and template les.
For the machining feature model, there are two kinds of
geometric information: surface entities and wireframe entities.
The surface entities were used as the input to create the process
model. This was done by using a transfer function under
Surfacer that translates the surface entities into a SmartCAM
acceptable format (IGES) to create the process model.
The wireframe entities, on the other hand, were used as
input to create part of the macro le for SmartCAM (the
others would be relevant cutting tool and machining data, the
SmartCAMs function commands). Wireframe entities include
points, lines, arcs, circles, polylines, and NURBS curve entities.
However, it was found that the SmartCAM module used for
this project did not have an existing mechanism to accept
NURBS curve entities. NURBS curve entities encountered by
SmartCAM are automatically ignored, resulting in missing data.
As a result, a program had to be implemented to interpolate
the NURBS curve entities into polyline entities, which can
then be dealt with by SmartCAM.
Once the NURBS curve entities were interpolated into poly-
line data, the wireframe entities were translated to form the
macro le with interpreted process planning data. However,
A Reverse Engineering and Machining System 189
Fig. 5. RECSIs graphic user interface.
since there is no existing function to accomplish this, a new
mechanism was created within the information interface to
convert these entities into the macro le format.
For the process plan, there is also no existing mechanism
for translating the process planning data into SmartCAMs
macro le (combining with the translated wireframe entities
from the machining feature model), as well as for converting
it into a SmartCAM job le and machining/template le. Thus,
a mechanism was implemented using the information interface
to allow the manipulation of all the process planning data,
organising it into the relevant formats (especially SmartCAM
macro and job les, since generally the combination of machin-
ing and template les can be selected easily from the existing
database provided within the SmartCAM software). The Sur-
facer Scoll operation provides the functions necessary for
the implementation of this interface mechanism, allowing the
computed results to be processed into the various desired data
le formats.
4. Implementation
4.1 Development Tools
The proposed RECSI has been implemented using Scoll and
SmartCAMs macro. Scoll can be used not only as a type of
basic macro language to simplify the automation of repetitive
interactive tasks, but also as a high-level language for program-
ming. For example, users can use Scoll to write a function
that can invoke many interactive Surfacer operations or other
Imageware software operations, and can then call that function
with a single command which has been added to the standard
menus. As a result of these powerful Scoll functions provided
by Imageware, most of the tasks of the proposed system can
be performed in the Surfacer environment.
4.2 Graphic User Interface
The main work for the graphic user interface (GUI) has been
carried out in the Surfacer environment. This GUI, as shown
in Fig. 5, was written based on a small set of GUI utilities
which were developed by Imageware. The GUI contains vari-
ous buttons, menus, message boxes, dialogue boxes, and a
view port. The reverse engineering menu, outlined in Fig. 6, has
three submenus: pre-process, process-planning and machining-
feature. They are used to pre-process the input data separately,
determine machining tools, machine parameters as well as
machining sequences, and generate the tool paths according to
the dened machining feature.
The pre-process menu contains the submenus: transform,
segment, sample, curve and surface. Transform allows users to
re-set-up or duplicate the model in the coordinate system by
moving, rotating, and offsetting operations. Segment and sam-
ple are two operations implemented to manipulate the point
cloud. They can separate the data into pieces and lter the
data, respectively. Curve has functions used to create and edit
curves. Similar to the curve menu, surface allows users to
model surfaces based on the point data.
The process-planning menu consists of three parts: feature
group, job le, and workplane/toolplane. Feature groups func-
tion is to divide geometry entities (i.e. curves, surfaces) into
groups for tool-path generation. It can also group toolpaths
(i.e. CL data) and determine the machining sequence. Com-
bined with a machining feature model, a job le obtained from
190 J. Chow et al.
Fig. 6. RECSI menu.
the job le edit function can be used to generate tool paths.
It contains cutting tool information (e.g. diameter, tool shape,
material, etc.) and also machining information (e.g. feedrate,
spindle speed, power rate, etc.). SmartCAM also provides the
workplane/toolplane function to help users dene machining
set-ups without rotating the CAD model. It allows users to
identify two local coordinate systems (for a workplane and a
toolplane, respectively) in the world coordinate system. The
relationship between these two local coordinate systems reects
the relative motion between the machine table and the cut-
ting tool.
The machining-feature menu has four submenus which are
pocket, prole, surface, and slope surface. Users can use the
pocket function to generate tool paths for pocket machining.
Various specic features are derived from the general pocket,
such as a blind/through slot, a blind/through step, a pocket
with island, an open pocket, a slab, etc. Thus, the tool paths
of any of these features can be generated using the basic
pocket function. Prole is employed to generate an outer/inner
contour tool path. Here, the inner contour tool path is the tool
path offset from the closed boundary of a through opening.
Surface can be used to create the tool paths for a surface
model. Slope surface can help users to generate tool paths
between two parallel curves. These functions reect the mach-
ining nature and can call the relevant SmartCAM tool-path
generation functions.
All of the human interaction in the procedure occurs in
Surfacer. The output from Surfacer, which is the input for its
Table 3. Feasibility study and integrated system result comparison for
leading edge rib (in mm).
Data Original Feasibility Integrated FS IS
number study system original original
(FS) (IS)
1 82.804 82.880 82.855 0.076 0.050
2 3.480 3.429 3.505 0.050 0.025
3 3.835 3.810 3.861 0.025 0.025
4 3.429 3.404 3.353 0.025 0.076
5 6.223 6.147 6.147 0.076 0.076
6 24.841 24.943 24.892 0.101 0.050
7 3.480 3.454 3.556 0.025 0.076
8 35.306 35.331 35.204 0.025 0.101
9 2.337 2.438 2.261 0.101 0.076
10 46.355 46.228 46.228 0.127 0.127
Note: These measurements were taken from various locations in leading
edge rib.
successor, SmartCAM, is ready to generate NC code automati-
cally.
5. Results and Discussions
Dimensional comparisons between the original parts and the
duplicate parts for both the sample parts were performed to
evaluate the accuracy and efciency of the concurrent engineer-
ing system. The errors of this integrated system overall were
found to be very close to the calculated errors in the results
of the reverse engineering feasibility study. (within a tolerance
of 0.127 mm), and some were even better. The comparisons
between these two different approaches are displayed in Tables
3 and 4.
The length of time required to complete each step was
recorded and the time record comparisons for each sample part
are given in Tables 5 and 6. The data in that table show that
the tool-pathing time in the integrated system had been cut
down signicantly (70%80%) owing to the full automation
of the CAM procedure (tool-path time refers to the time spent
in building a process planning model within the Surfacer
Table 4. Feasibility study and integrated system results comparison for
forward latch tting (in mm).
Data Original Feasibility Integrated FS IS
number study system original original
(FS) (IS)
1 2.794 2.870 2.769 0.076 0.025
2 4.191 4.216 4.140 0.025 0.050
3 18.364 18.339 18.288 0.025 0.076
4 11.379 11.074 11.379 0.025 0.000
5 44.018 44.094 44.120 0.076 0.050
6 4.826 4.775 4.775 0.050 0.050
7 3.912 4.064 3.988 0.152 0.076
8 7.315 7.366 7.340 0.050 0.025
9 4.064 4.140 4.115 0.076 0.050
10 2.845 2.718 2.794 0.127 0.050
Note: These measurements were taken from various locations in forward
leatch tting.
A Reverse Engineering and Machining System 191
Table 5. Feasibility study and RECSI time record for leading edge rib.
Process Feasibility study RECSI (h)
(h)
1. Scanning 45 45
2. Reconstruction 3050 2545
3. Tool-pathing 25 5
Total 5980 3455
Table 6. Feasibility study and RECSI time record for forward latch t-
ting.
Process Feasibility study RECSI (h)
(h)
1. Scanning 34 34
2. Reconstruction 2030 1525
3. Tool-pathing 15 3
Total 3849 2132
software). As some frequently used geometric edit functions
were customised to reduce repetitive operations, the CAD
model reconstruction times are also cut down by approximately
10%. From this comparison, it was found that the proposed
RECSI system was capable of enhancing the efciency of both
aspects of the reverse engineering and CAM procedure
(reducing part turn-around time by 25%40%).
6. Conclusion
This project has demonstrated that laser based reverse engineer-
ing can be used to duplicate complicated parts accurately and
efciently. A concurrent engineering system that fully integrates
reverse engineering with CAM operations can further reduce
the time required for part duplication. In particular, this study
has developed and implemented a process planning system and
an information interface that tightly couple CAD modelling
and CAM tool-pathing.
References
1. R. Schreiber, The dynamics of digitizing, Manufacturing Engin-
eering, pp. 5963, March 1992.
2. Y. Hosini and L. Ferreira, Laser based system for reverse engin-
eering, Computers and Industrial Engineering, 26(2), pp. 20
26, 1994.
3. Surfacer Users Guide, Version 6.0, Imageware, November 1996.