Reverse Engineering of Steel Strapping Machine for a USA based Tool Manufacturer
Client Profile.
Leading manufacturer of consumable supplies
Industry: Tools Manufacturing, USA
Objective.
Client facing fierce competition because of the competitor launched a product. The client wanted to assess the operational features of innovation and ways to inculcate it along with other user friendly features in their product and validate them. HitechDigital project team developed and validated new design using simulation tools to avoid premature failures.
Business Needs.
Assess the threats posed innovations and features introduced by both new entrants & current competitors to the market.
Digitizing legacy designs, modify and add value to existing component with detailed engineering and simulation insights.
Remanufacture obsolete part to restore operational performance /output and efficiency.
Functional / non-functional assessment of competitor’s product, to make own product & marketing stand out.
Identify design flaws restricting client product from being user friendly.
Comparative analysis of competitor’s and the client’s product to extract user friendly features along with customer feedback for improvements.
Set prices competitively and yield productive response to rivals market strategy.
Challenges.
Measuring and scanning geometry and surface curvature meticulously to maintain original design intent and functionality of the tool.
Studying and documenting the triangular meshes or point could obtained from scanning to create CAD models.
As scanning arms are prone to vibrations and have obstructed line of sight scanned information is to be interpolated to get exact geometry and obtain proof of concepts.
Performing manual dimension measurements using CMM to obtain missed-out or impossible to record otherwise during the 3D scanning process.
Validating design innovations in existing products as a response to meet financial and component operational requirements.
HitechDigital’s Solution.
HitechDigital studied the client and competitor’s product by scanned and geometrical measured information using CAD models, to come up with comparative analytics of the complete machine.
High-end software like ANSYS verified machine stability and assess strength for new innovative features using simulation.
Analysis results pointed out the modifications needed in design to sustain stress generated during machine operation.
Approach.
Geometrical information of every machine component was recorded with scanning and CMM technique for generating CAD model by step by step disassembling of parts.
Deviation analysis was performed for geometry comparison by overlaying 3D scanned geometry over the CAD model.
Individual component drawings & detailed manufacturing drawings were prepared.
The components were then analyzed separately for structural integrity and stress concentration to identify critical areas in design requiring optimization.
Analysis brought insights for design modification to withstand higher loads.
Benefit.
30% reduction in prototyping test trials which accelerated the design cycle time.
Major design flaws identified that helped maintain the design integrity.
Competitive advantage in the market with greater accuracy, speed and reliable product design.
Digital documentation for future design modification needs, referencing, and PLM applications.
Client was able to remove surplus material which further helped him reduce product price.
Client Speaks.
We handed them a sample, and their skilled engineers work backwards, disassembling it to identify its components, for design innovation. Having them on our side saved us a lot of time and money.
Result.
Reduced cost of initial testing & errors at the product design stage.
Addition of new feature and value as per customer feedback.
Reduced costing due to removal of access material used.
Increased market penetration with reliable products.
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