Introduction
The scope of this job was to reverse engineer a powered stairway for a Caterpillar 789C Dump Truck. A powered stairway is one that is hydraulically operated so it can be raised and lowered about a pivot where it mounts to the truck.
Project Focus and Challenges
Due to its movement the mounting points need to be precise and the ancillary pieces that are welded to the ladder (such as the ram mounts and handrail mounts) must be in the correct position. Additionally, these ancillaries must be correct so that if we sell a ladder, it must be able to interface with OEM parts that the customer may want to re-use from their truck.
In a case such as this, all the measurements can be taken by hand (which we still do) however taking a scan means we can either model straight over the scan or model from measurements, make a 3D model, then overlay the scan on the model. This can show if anything has been missed and if the crucial parts are in the correct places.
Project Outcomes
In this instance, the main benefit in using the scanner was to speed up the process of measuring on site. When a designer has taken critical dimensions and some quick overall dimensions, so long as a quality scan has been taken this is often sufficient to complete the job. Scanning can also help capture what can be difficult to measure by hand.
Sometimes, when measuring onsite, there are parts or shapes that obscure the draftsman from being able to measure in a straight line or the part may still be on the machine (as was the case in this instance) making it hard to get measuring equipment where required – scanning around these obstructions can be invaluable in obtaining precision.
Another benefit in having the scan to reference is that much of the equipment we meaure has been used on mine sites and as such has had a hard life. Often stairs and handrails like this are bent or rusted away, so having a 3D scan can be useful in checking if the object is true and therefore if the measurements taken are accurate.
As a result of scanning this job, the process was expedited (saving the client money) and a more accurate result was achieved than by measuring alone.
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