CAD Software Tools Employed in a Reverse Engineering Application: a Fan Propeller Model Reconstruction

Reverse Engineering (RE) is a technology that allows the creation of virtual models from real parts. Therefore, it is possible to produce new parts, products, and assemblies based on existing physical models. In addition, the RE allows correction and improvement of models, product inspection, and the documentation of parts information. However, quick and practical methods must be established during the production chain, in which the entire technological apparatus must be used in the best possible way, with the intention of providing adequate information and material flow. The availability of reference materials is important for the exchange of information and popularization of this process, benefiting several academics, professionals, and companies, who see in the benchmark process a fundamental piece for solving problems. Therefore, in this paper, a RE based approach is proposed to aid the creation of a digital model from an already existing physical model. The main objective was to deploy some main available software tools to establish a generic method to reconstruct a digital model from a damaged part. Each stage of this process was detailed and analyzed as it represents one more important part of the RE.