RV PRO Reverse Engineering Production

In this article, we will talk about the experience of reverse engineering an immersion mixer in order to localize its production in Russia. We emphasize that the 3D scanner is only one of the tools for reverse engineering. It is in this context that the case will be described. 

Task

Mixing is an important technological process in many phases of water purification. Depending on the purpose and the required mixing time, various mixing devices can be used. One of the types of mixing devices is a dynamic propeller-type agitator (submersible mixer), which is used for pumping low-pressure waters and for creating a flow in reservoirs.

The submersible mixer is in operation

At the moment, there is a severe shortage of necessary parts for the rapid repair of agitators in Russia. Previously, they were ordered from Europe, but now there is simply no such possibility.

As part of the project to localize one of the types of pumps manufactured by the German company KSB, it was necessary to issue working design documentation, while selecting a drive with similar characteristics and making all necessary changes to the relevant parts and assemblies, taking into account the new drive. This has become a task for specialists Samara University Engineering Center, which was solved by employees Innopol-technologies companies

The solution

Before disassembling the pump, the entire product was scanned, with the exception of the frame in which the drive with the impeller is installed, so that later, during 3D modeling, all external dimensions and the relative position of the body parts could be compared, as well as deviations of the constructed 3D model from the geometry of the product. 

A RangeVision PRO scanner was used to create a digital copy of the immersion mixer. The scanning process took about 4-5 hours, including labeling, measurement, and calibration.

The process of scanning the immersion mixer assembly

Looking ahead, there was no need for this scan, as replacing the drive entailed many design changes.

After disassembly, several body parts were scanned on the turntable. Each one took about 1-1.5 hours in total. 3D models were partially created using these scans. Some of the measurements were carried out with a hand—held measuring instrument, there is no way to do without it - this is the most reliable way to determine the tolerances of the fitting dimensions of the parts, but at the same time the longest. There was also a need for sketching: for example, the shafts were measured exclusively with hand tools. Manual measurements would have been required anyway, regardless of whether they would have been scanned or not, so the engineers simply saved themselves time.

But it would hardly have been possible to cope with the measurement of the impeller without the help of a 3D scanner. The diameter of the blades is about 800 mm, but it turned out to be enough to scan one blade. In total, the scanning time of this part (matting of the surface was not required) was about 1 hour. The scanning process was simple and straightforward, without the need for complex adjustments or attempts to capture the internal cavities of the parts in the frame.

3D scan of the impeller

Result

After the scan was completed, the engineering department performed reverse engineering of the resulting models, and design documentation was developed and released.

CAD model of an immersion mixer

According to the engineering center's specialists, the 3D scanner is an extremely useful tool that can speed up the execution of many tasks that usually take days, weeks, and even months. For reverse engineering and geometry control, a 3D scanner is the best option.