Link between reverse engineering and additive technology on the example of a model without technical documentation

Abstract

Reverse engineering (RE) is a process that integrates additive technologies, while enabling finishing or modifications of an existing model, as well as the application of new ideas in design improvement. This approach leads to the reduction (or elimination) of certain steps of the product development process, and faster model digitization, with further improvements and optimization of parameters. The biggest challenge in the application of RE is the high-quality physical part reproduction with the best possible characteristics, while keeping the realization costs as low as possible. Especially in this segment additive technologies become increasingly important. In this work, RE is applied in order to fabricate a protective cover of a machine used in semiconductor production, based on the existing (damaged) physical sample. The protective cover is a part of a silicon wafer dicing saw (Micro Automation, Model 602M), and it is made of plastic. Due to the age and the long exploitation of the machine, the sample part was broken at one of its supports. Unfortunately, since the machine has become obsolete a long time ago, the spare parts cannot be found. In such cases, RE has an important role, and the fabrication of a new part would be almost unthinkable without the application of additive technology. The CAD model of the protective cover was defined based on the measured dimensions of the damaged part. The procedure is very convenient in cases when only a physical part (or a finished product) exists without technical documentation, or when the existing technical documentation is not in a digital form. We performed model optimization and load simulation on the supports for different materials. After digitization, the model manufacturing process started. The model was made of the thermoplastic polymer ABS on the 3D printer Wanhao Duplicator, type i3 plus, made in the People’s Republic of China. In this paper, we intended to illustrate the significance of the symbiosis of RE and the additive technology in the process of realization of parts/assemblies of an obsolete product with no spare parts available.