Final model created using Mesh2Surface software
Like in any other industry, food process and manufacturing must keep up with the times in terms of technological developments. Gone are the days of cutting meats by hand, in the modern day most meat is cut using laser cutters as they offer greater precision and ease.
Companies like Dodman, which offers innovative solutions to complete food processing and manufacturing tasks, must continue to look ahead and meet the demands of the future.
About Dodman
Dodman is a family-run business that provides its customers with flexible, efficient, and innovative solutions within the food processing and manufacturing sectors.
Dodman
The company helps its customers complete various tasks from feeding stuffing mix into a sandwich to testing the tenderness of fresh peas. Ensuring safety and high levels of hygiene are also at the forefront of what Dodman stands for.
Dodman tries out 3D scanning and reverse engineering technologies
As Doman strives to keep up with demand and technological development, 3D scanning was noted as a “game-changer” with the introduction being “revolutionising [in] the way Dodman approaches design and manufacturing.”
To keep up with modern technologies, Dodman adopted Artec 3D’s Artec Leo scanner alongside the Mesh2Surface software. The food processing solutions provider had recognised the potential benefits of adopting a reverse engineering solution as the company looked into a selection of 3D scanning solutions.
The Artec Leo’s flexibility, as the scanner does not need to be connected to a laptop, was particularly helpful to Dodman. Having chosen the Artec Leo, Patrick Thorn, a supplier of Artec 3D scanners, demonstrated the various capabilities of Mesh2Surface, which integrates with Dodman’s preferred CAD software, SolidWorks.
This was an attractive offer for Dodman, as the company wouldn't need to switch between different software environments when utilising reverse engineering. Additionally, Mesh2Surface was found to handle very large and dense 3D data better than other SolidWorks plugin software options. After a year of evaluation, Dodman purchased nine licenses of Mesh2Surface for SolidWorks.
Key benefits of the Mesh2Surface software:
- Extensive data is captured: During the scanning process, all details are captured, making it easier to accommodate any design changes later on in the process.
- Handles large data sets: Unlike other SolidWorks plug-ins, Mesh2Surface can handle extensive data sets without the quality of the platform suffering.
- Limited human interaction: Using this software, human interaction time, and therefore on-site time, can be significantly reduced as there is a smaller risk of unintentional errors.
- Optimise processes with reverse engineering: One of the key elements of the platform is its reverse engineering tools which can create manufacturable CAD.
- Software support: The KVS Mesh2Surface team will provide support, as it did to Dodman, to maximise the software’s potential and make continuous improvements.
How has Dodman’s investments impacted how the company works today?
Since incorporating the Artec Leo scanner and Mesh2Surface software, the new solutions have become “integral to Dodman’s workflow.” Now, the company has reported that it can “undertake projects that would have been impossible with traditional methods.” Additionally, one of Dodman’s engineers was not traditionally trained to use SolidWorks but managed to teach themselves how to use the Mesh2Surface software using the provided tutorials.
During one of Dodman’s projects, the company reverse-engineered a Glatt Mobile Vessel for a pharmaceutical production line. Said vessel was 10-15 years old and was near the end of its life, but it was fundamental to the production line. This was a hindrance to Dodman, as its engineers had limited access to the part.
Mesh2Surface scan
Utilising traditional methods, Dodman would have had to measure the vessel using tape measures or cardboard templates which would have been time-consuming with a greater chance of errors occurring. But with 3D scanning and Mesh2Surface, the capturing process only took a matter of hours to complete, with reverse engineering to CAD taking an additional couple of days.
Professional reverse engineering is more than simply creating assets in a generic CAD format. But the result should be a bill of materials. Andrew Chase from Dodman explained, “It’s not enough to draw simple tubes to represent pipework/hollow section, it has to be drawn to a pipework standard, or, for example, using standard pieces of box section that can be sourced and manufactured.”
By adopting the Mesh2Surface tool in particular, the technology has allowed Dodman to maintain a competitive edge in the bespoke food machinery industry. Additionally, the combination of 3D scanning and the software has gone further and has fully redefined the company’s workflow, allowing Dodman’s to deliver precise, reliable, and innovative solutions to its customers.