Cost-effective solid reconstruction from an X-ray image

Solid reconstruction of a 3D computer solid model from 2D line drawings has been studied widely over the last two decades. In fact, it is one critical operation in the rapid reverse engineering of a mechanical part. The computer model reconstructed can be used in down-stream operations such as part re-design, engineering analysis, rapid prototyping or CAM. For industrial application, the method should be efficient, cost effective, with minimum human interaction, and reasonably accurate. A new method is studied and implemented using a computer-vision approach to extract information from a mechanical part and generate the corresponding computer model. The method takes advantage of X-rays to capture images of an object with obscured interior details. The reconstruction algorithm will generate an information-complete solid model. The paper explains and discusses the method with examples and explores its cost effectiveness. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved