3D Scanning - Gearbox Reverse Engineering

Here you can see the Mazda 727C gearbox project which showcases the abilities of our 3D Scanning technology. 

In this example we highlight the ability to scan multiple components, merge them together and reverse engineer the scan into a highly detailed & accurate model.  This was a follow up project from the Mazda 727C shell which you can view here.

To help the customer build the engine mounts and suspension, which is integral to the gearbox on this car, we were asked to scan the gearbox and reverse engineer it into a useable CAD model.  The CAD was to be supplied as a parametric solid model to allow the customer's engineer to make the appropriate modifications to create a new bell housing to be CNC machined to fit the engine.  

 

We will focus on the process of how we scanned and reverse engineered the bell housing portion of the gearbox and then show the individual components below.

First we set about scanning the entire exterior of the gearbox to generate our exterior model (1). 


Then we dismantled the gearbox so that we could scan inside and the rear face of the bell housing (2 & 3). 


With the seperate scans saved, they were then aligned with the exterior model (4) before trimming the differential & tail section of the gearbox away. 


We then merged the 3 separate scans together and were left with the full bell housing component (5). 


With the scan data as a reference, the surfaces were then reverse engineered via hundreds of sketches and planes to create a 3D CAD Model (6). 


With a final comparison of the scan data against the CAD model, we were confident of the end result (7). 


Finally an accuracy check is performed to see how closely we modelled the component compared to the original part (8).


Everything coloured green is within 0.5mm of the original part.  Given the original bell housing is a cast component and is over 35 years old, this level of accuracy is sure to produce a part that replaces the original perfectly. (N.B. important features such as hole centres, bolt holes, and bearing recesses are within 0.1mm). 

 

 

 

 

 

This process was repeated for the Differential, Main Case, Main Case Side Plates, and Tail section to produce the a full model.

After multiple musuem visits by the customer's engineer, to inspect one of the only Mazda 737Cs in Europe (with which this car shares a lot of parts).  It was noted that the main case side plates would need to be changed out for the inboard brake variants, in order to mount some of the suspension components.  These were located at the Gearbox Specialist's facility 100km away near Cologne.  So a further trip was completed to scan the other version of main case side plates a few days later. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the new main case side plates scanned and reverse engineered they could be swapped in place of the orignal units in CAD and aligned perfectly. 

The final models were then saved as aligned individual components in the customers chosen format, so that they can quickly and easily be opened and worked on.  A secure link is sent over to download and inspect the data, with continued support and the ability to download the file as many times as required provided as standard.  

 

 

  

 

  

If you have a project or an idea that could benefit from our technology & experience, get in touch today by dropping us an email or using the Contact Us page.

  

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