Over a video call, Michael Raphael, CEO of Direct Dimensions, and his team were able to review the curved part and determine that a laser line scanner on an articulating arm would be the best approach.
It was time to bring in the big guns and work with some professionals–Xometry called the Maryland-based 3D scanning experts at Direct Dimensions. Simply put, calipers and hand measuring would be too risky to create a functional design. The part is also a long plastic piece, meaning that it may already have slight warp or distortion in an unconstrained state. Simple geometries like this washer can be reverse-engineered with calipers and drafted in CAD in minutes.īut what about the gear rack? That shape was non-intuitive, curving as a spline, with protruding boss features on the opposite side of the gears. Xometry received the parts and got to work to make a 3D printable model for manufacturing.
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The broken gear rack, the identical intact gear rack, and a plastic washer were shipped to Xometry and it was time to determine how to create 3D models from the parts received–this is called reverse engineering. This is the 3-dimensional data that is interpreted by the printer to create the shape of the part. However, it does require one thing: 3D CAD. 3D printing has the amazing ability to create end-use production parts in low quantities and at a low cost. Wagar reached out to Xometry to see if it could use its plastic 3D printing service to replace one of two curved gear racks that were critical to the function of the massage chair. Davison still had a broken chair and Wagar was determined to find a solution. After her first segment aired about the unresponsive company and repair shop, she wasn’t done.
Wagar put on her sleuthing hat and started her investigation. Davison even went out to a local shop to try to get a repair with no luck. The farmer, Rick Davison, found out the company he purchased the chair from was no longer in business. Wagar produced a segment called Problem Solvers and did a story about a retired farmer who purchased an expensive massage chair only to have it break in less than a year. In late June, the team at Xometry received a message from Linda Wagar, a consumer reporter with Fox4 News in Kansas City. If you ever had something you wanted to replicate with a 3D printer or wanted to know more about 3D scanning and engineering, read on! I Have a Part, Can You 3D Print a Replacement? This story is about reverse engineering, how 3D printing can be used for replacement parts, and what it takes to generate 3D CAD from complex physical parts. Luckily, Xometry has the right resources on hand to do the job. Getting from a broken part to a 3D printed replacement can be more involved than one realizes.