Quality assessment of reverse engineering process based on full-field true-3D optical measurements

In the paper the sequential steps of reverse engineering based on the data gathered by full-field optical system are discussed. Each step is concerned from the point of view of its influence on the final quality of the shape of manufactured object. At first the modem shape measurement system based on the combination of fringe projection, Grey code and experimental calibration is presented. The system enables the determination of absolute coordinates of the object measured from many directions. The dependence of the quality of the cloud of points on the type of object and the measurement procedure is discussed. Then the methods of transferring the experimental data into CAD/CAM/CAE system are presented. The quality of the virtual object in the form of closed triangular mesh is analyzed. Basing on this virtual object the copy of initial body is produced and measured. The accuracy of the object manufactured is determined and the main sources of errors are discussed. The modifications of the system and algorithms that minize the errors are proposed. The reverse engineering sequence presented is illustrated by several examples.