The Challenge: Boiler Tube Panels from a steel mill had reached its end of life and needed to be replaced. Each door panel was 300” long and had some tubes running straight and some in 3-dimensions from one header to the other. Original panels were built a few decades ago. There was no CAD model or detailed drawings that defined centerline of tubes running in 3-dimensions to help re-build the panels.
The Solution: Laser 3D scanning was the most effective method to accurately capture 3D centerline of each tube. We arrived at customer site and with-in a few hours scanned the panels using certified metrology-grade laser 3D scanner, capturing tubes running in 3D from one header to the other in each panel.
Polygon Model (scanned mesh) of Boiler Tube Panel
As a first step, the polygon model generated by the scanner was aligned to the global coordinate system in VXmodel software.
Geomagic Design X scan to CAD reverse engineering software was used for next steps of creating CAD model from aligned polygon mesh. Centerline of each tube was extracted from the polygon mesh. Centerline of each tube was dimensionally defined and geometrically constrained. We worked as a team with our customer’s engineering team. Outside diameter & wall thickness provided by the customer’s engineering team was used to create CAD model for each tube. Bend radius for each tube was adjusted as requested by the customer. CAD model of each tube was provided separately to customer’s engineering team to create detail 2D drawing in their software of choice.
CAD Model of 3D Tubes in Door Panel
Conclusion: V3D Technologies delivered the perfect solution by precisely 3D scanning the existing door panel tubes and creating highly accurate CAD models. This allowed the customer to manufacture and install Boiler Tube Door Panels seamlessly, saving valuable time and avoiding complications. With rapid turnaround times and exceptional accuracy, V3D Technologies is the go-to partner for industrial manufacturing and operations companies looking to 3D scan and reverse-engineer legacy parts & assemblies—minimizing downtime and maximizing efficiency.