Reverse-Engineered Windscreen

Reverse-Engineered Windscreen

Project Background:

Recently there has been an increasing demand for models to be created based on an existing object or prototype, a process known as reverse engineering. This field is mostly centered on the reverse engineering of physical objects, which involves taking a physical prototype part and producing a CAD model of it. This requires both model reconstruction techniques and manufacturing expertise, as well as a deep understanding of the physical attributes of the object being replicated. Below we will describe how our 3D modeling engineers were able to reverse engineer a car windscreen for Fuyao Group, the biggest supplier of automotive glass in China.

Challenges

1. This project involved working with a complex curved object, presenting a number of challenges when it came to measuring it. It was essential that the surface dimensions were measured completely accurately, and with the windscreen bending and flexing it meant an unusual level of care was required.

2. The client specifically mentioned they required top-level engineering on the reproduction of the curved surface of the windscreen, as well as on the gaps between the windscreen and the other curved surfaces at the edges. The changing tangency and curvature of the surfaces also needed to be dealt with perfectly. All kinds of glass involve some degree of bending and flexing, and for such a large curved glass object like a car windscreen, this flexing is significant both vertically and laterally. For our model engineers this presented an additional layer of difficulty.