3D Information Management Enabling Manufacture Engineering

Industrial companies are confronted to reverse engineering on mechanical components. They have to define a new process planning from 3D information (points cloud, drawings, etc.). The component has to be re-engineered in order to improve and optimize new manufacturing processes. According to surveys, reverse engineering approaches begin to be supported by Knowledge Base engineering Systems (KBS). These systems are efficient to quickly obtain CAD models based on functional features. These models are successful for redesigning activities and then for defining a process planning. Industrial companies often need to re-engineered components in order to define directly a new process planning. In this case CAD models, based on functional features, are not useful. This paper suggests an approach called Reverse Engineering For Manufacturing (REFM) which allows to directly obtain a CAPP (Computer Aided Process Planning) model from 3D information. The system management is based on Design For Manufacturing (DFM) approach and enables to manage manufacturing information (such as the number of fixtures, the kind of milling operations, etc.). In addition, this system management allows to define process planning alternatives. The aim of the paper is to show the concept of REFM approach according to a use case.