In the heart of rural France stands a singular factory. For over a century, it’s been producing high-purity metals for the aerospace, defense and energy sector, using a unique process. Its production spans across two levels, with a compressor turbine that pumps a liquid byproduct from the lower to the upper area.

The byproduct is very corrosive, so the team frequently have to replace parts of the compressor that have been damaged. This type of maintenance work is routine, and the team regularly order new parts from a manufacturer. 

One day an issue arose that could bring production to a halt. A turbine was showing signs of failing in less than six months of use – much faster than expected. When the team tried to order a replacement, nothing was available in stock. 

The only other avenue was remanufacturing. The team used a spare part as a template for a new one. They would measure the part with hand tools, use the data to design a 3D model in CAD software, and have a manufacturer make a replica. 

This approach failed to deliver good results. For reasons unknow to the team, the remanufactured turbine wasn’t performing as expected.

The team took a different approach. They leveraged reverse engineering software, Geomagic Design X, to design the turbine, and 3D metrology software, Geomagic Control X, to ensure accuracy. It worked like a charm.

“Geomagic Control X is easy to use,” Monzón says. “We are not a metrology company, and we don’t need complex metrology software. You can learn how to use Geomagic Control X even if you’re not an expert in metrology. Any engineer can open it and start comparing parts. It allows us to be able to work very quickly when we need a basic comparison of two parts with integrated reporting tools. You can generate a report very quickly.”

Once the turbine arrived, 3D Project checked that it was manufactured accurately. First, the turbine was scanned. Next, Monzón used Geomagic Control X to compare that scan to the CAD model he had designed. The analysis confirmed the fabrication was correct. The prototype corresponded to the CAD model and in production it even outperformed the original.  

Impressed with the results, the customer hired 3D Project to verify the entire series of parts they manufactured using the reverse engineered CAD model.  

Why Geomagic Design X and Control X?

The Geomagic Design X and Control X workflow was critical in delivering an effective solution. It enabled 3D Project to identify the issue with the first prototype and to an error-free CAD model of the turbine.

“Over the years I’ve used several software solutions to reverse engineer parts,” Monzón says. “Geomagic Design X is the best option because it was developed specifically for reverse engineering. With other solutions, reverse engineering is just one aspect of the software.”

Additionally, Geomagic Design X allows him to work with big files size. “Geomagic Design X is a complete solution that allows you to handle huge point clouds. We worked with point clouds from long-rage scanners, very high precision scanners, and we haven’t had any issues,” he says.

The fact that Geomagic Control X is part of the same suite as Design X makes the entire process of remanufacturing and inspecting the parts run smoothly. “The interface of Geomagic Control X is quite similar to Geomagic Design X, so it’s easy to pick it up. The two solutions work well together so it’s simple to transfer files between them,” he concludes.