Page 42 - MetalForming May 2016
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Die Shop Profits from
Reengineering
 High-resolution scanning combines with associative surface- technology software to create the centerpiece of die-reengineering efforts at Atlas Tool.
Metalformer Atlas Tool Inc., Roseville, MI, not only has focused on developing inno- vative programs for tooling and part production for all types of stamped sheetmetal parts; it also has evolved into a provider of advanced die build and repair capabilities. Most recently, die reengineering has been its focus— essentially recreating dies, or their CAD data.
“When a die comes into our shop from overseas with issues or questions,” says Walt Tadday, CAD/CAM manager at Atlas, “we use a high-resolution scan- ner (an Atos Triple Scan from GOM, with blue-light technology and 16-megapix- el cameras) to generate a point cloud. The cloud, output as a mesh model of the die surface, gives us accurate CAD data of the tool that’s sitting there on our shop floor, despite the potentially faulty documentation.”
It’s not just foreign-made dies that benefit from this process. “Our North American customers send us dies that have been in operation for some time
Atlas CAD/CAM manager Walt Tadday works with the Tebis BREP software suite to create, adapt, repair and optimize CAD surfaces of stamping dies.
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and are in need of repair,” Tadday adds. “Scanning enables us to detect whether or not a die is worn in certain areas due to production, or has other surface imperfections. In addition, we can use the data to make spares. When a die has been running continuously, the details will wear. Scanning generates an accu- rate solid model of a die’s current con-
dition so we can bring it back to its original state.”
Converting Scan Data
to High-Quality Surfaces
Scanning the die surfaces, however, is not the be-all end-all. The mass of scanned data must be converted into high-quality surfaces. Here, Atlas relies





















































































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