Application Of Reverse Engineering And Rapid Prototyping In Development Of Impeller

In industrial application, the basic concept of producing a part based on an original or physical model without the use of engineering drawing is called "Reverse Engineering". Reverse engineering typically starts with measuring an existing object so that a surface or solid model can be deduced in order to exploit the advantages of CAD/CAM technologies. It is often necessary to produce a copy of a part, when no original drawings or documentation are available. In other cases we may want to re-engineer an existing part, when analysis and modifications are required to construct a new improved product. Especially in the aeronautical, automotive, shipbuilding, die and mould, and aerospace manufacturing industries that frequently encounter complex surfaces, since shorter lead time has become a competitive advantage. To satisfy the tremendous need for product shape design and functional modification, reverse engineering has played an important role in recent years.The core part of fan products is impeller which directly affects product performance. To take advantage of Reverse Engineering and Rapid Prototyping & Manufacturing (RP&M) technology to develop new stage impellers is a good solution not only for machining difficulty of compressor stages but for improving the manufacturing accuracy of pump stages as well. Instead of conventional way, such as machining compressor stages from forges, making dies first for pump stages'casting etc, using RP&M new technology to manufacture stages makes stage structure and form more variable which is good for speeding stage development, lower manufacturing costs, so as to improve the adaptability for new developed products to put into markets.(1) To briefly introduce current research situation worldwide on reverse engineering, include common used software, hardware and measuring methods.(2) Analyzed general curves and surfaces used in reverse engineering, the features and application conditions of curves and surfaces are summarized by comparison and analysis. (3) Reverse design methods based on laser scanning technology are studied to inspect, compare and analyze.(4) Based on theories, typical Impeller is exampled in this paper in reverse design, rapid prototyping and manufacturing.