Reverse Engineering and Rapid Prototyping in the Process of Developing Prototypes of Automotive Parts

Abstract

The presented article deals with the application of Reverse Engineering and Rapid Prototyp-ing processes in the development process in the automotive industry. In our case, we will focus on the design of the exterior rear view mirror. We obtained the information about the shape and as well as the data used to model the part in a virtual CAD computer environment by scanning it with a Leica laser scanner. The obtained point cloud was imported into CATIA V5 software, which is often used in the automotive industry. In the CATIA software modules, section curves were translated into cloud points. Based on these curves, free shaped surfaces of the mirror body and its holder on the car door were created. After creating the mirror body-mirror mount assembly, print data of these parts were generated for production by Rapid Prototyping technology. The printing method based on ABS material using the FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) method was chosen.