DYMOL achieves quick reverse engineering of complex shapes with a non-contact scanner
With the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen Express in 2015, Ishikawa prefecture became more accessible from Tokyo. The historic city of Kanazawa, the capital of Ishikawa, is a tourist city visited by many from all over the world, and the city of Komatsu – located about 30km south-east from Kanazawa – will also be connected to the Hokuriku-Shinkansen when the extension from Kanazawa to Tsuruga opens in 2023.
Komatsu, the home base of major heavy machinery manufacturer Komatsu Ltd., is an old, heavy industrial city where many other related companies and their plants are located. One such company is DYMOL Co., Ltd. (DYMOL), a mold and machining manufacturer that designs and develops molds for use in heavy machinery, automobiles, industrial machines, and fittings. DYMOL supplies casting molds to both companies and consumers, and also processes gas turbine blades for power stations.
Inspection: Hand Tools, 3D Contact Measurement Devices
Back in 2004, DYMOL was the first company in Ishikawa Prefecture to introduce the FaroArm into its manufacturing process. Prior to that, the team at DYMOL relied on calipers and micrometers to inspect their products. However, demands on the inspection task increased when DYMOL started to work on turbine blades. In order to inspect the airfoil surfaces properly, the team decided to invest in a 3D measurement device. Besides inspecting turbine blades with the FaroArm, DYMOL also conducted reverse engineering with the contact probe on the device, because their work flow had changed from 2D modeling to direct 3D design.
Using the contact measurement method, the operator must first obtain thousands of data points with the FaroArm. Reverse engineering with this approach is not only time-consuming but also nearly impossible, especially for consumer designs that are more complex in nature. For these reasons, DYMOL initially chose to outsource projects that require non-contact 3D scans. However, as the market demand for reverse engineering grew in recent years, the company decided to invest in a 3D scanner and added the latest FARO Edge ScanArm HD into its fold of metrology instruments in December 2015.
Benefits of Reverse Engineering
Reverse Engineering as applied to mold manufacturing is particularly useful in two possible scenarios. First, for old molds with no design information available for re-manufacturing; second, for molds that require a material change – from heavy molds to lighter material. In both cases, molds are designed using a combination of the data obtained by the non-contact scanner and the geometry created based on the point data obtained from contact probing.
Commenting on the benefits of having both functions of the contact probe and non-contact scanner in the FARO Edge ScanArm HD scanner, Mr. Naoto Taka, Manager of the Sales and Technical Department at DYMOL said, “Since we design molds by combining contact and non-contact measurements, the ability to obtain both sets of measurements with just one device makes the process much more efficient and convenient.”
3D Scan Data
A sample of the 3D scan data obtained by the Edge ScanArm HD, which is capable of capturing complex shapes in a short time.
Mr. Kentaro Osugi, Vice President of DYMOL said, “We value innovations that can impress our customers.” He further explained, “Speed is an important factor for our customers. One of the greatest benefits of the new scanner is its superior scan performance on shiny materials. The ability to scan an object without the need for a scanning spray helps to hasten the process. For scan service requests, as long as we receive the product from the customer in the morning, we can complete the scan data report in the same day. This would not be possible if a spray was necessary, as it may take more than a day to fully remove the spray and return the product to the customer.”
Business Expansion: Reaching Consumers and Other Industries; Growing Nationwide
DYMOL acquired JISQ9100:2009 certifications (for aviation, space, and defense industries) in 2012, and the company plans to expand into other fields and industries. Mr. Osugi said, “In the area of consumer business, the prevalence of tools and know-how for D.I.Y projects has opened up a lot of doors. I think this creates a demand for molds, even amongst individuals.”
According to him, gas turbine blades made from special alloys are difficult to cut. Given that the cutting technology is a rare know-how, it increases the demand for DYMOL’s expertise.
When talking about his vision for the company’s future, Mr. Osugi concluded, “To that end, we decided that it was vital to first revamp our website. By putting DYMOL on the world wide web, we hope to expand our consumer business – which is currently limited to the Hokuriku district. While our use of the latest technologies like FARO’s 3D Measurement devices adds appeal to customers, it is our people who, as masters of these tools, allow DYMOL to excel. It is our collective skill that allows us to achieve the high-quality design, development, and processing that we produce. This is what we want to be known and remembered for.”