REVERSE ENGINEERING PHYSICAL MODELS EMPLOYING WRAP-AROUND B-SPLINE SURFACES AND QUADRICS

Reverse engineering involves digitizing a three-dimensional model oi p art, by means of a tactile or non-contact optical sensor, converting t he data to a CAD (computer aided design) database description and manu facturing by CNC (computer numerical controlled) machines. This paper demonstrates an effective approach to the reverse engineering of physi cal models by employing a three-dimensional laser scanning system in c onjunction with surface-fitting software developed by the authors. Acc urate surface data are collected by the laser scanner and then input t o the surface-fitting software. Surface entities such as B-spline and quadric functions are employed to build the CAD model. The CAD model i s compatible with popular design and manufacturing software packages. A telephone receiver is used to illustrate the efficiency of the proce ss.