GD&T for Reverse Engineering

The team was requested by Wagstaff to create a scale model of one of their Francis Turbines to aid in the advancement of knowledge on how to decipher old drawings, implementing this knowledge in the construction of turbines components. Wagstaff Engineering company is an aluminum based company in the Spokane Area, with an advancement of knowledge on hydro power damns and equipment they can be better informed for inspections and when making parts for clients.

Background
The current aim of this project is to 3D model a Francis style turbine system from outdated engineering drawings and if possible update them to create better understanding. This will also assist in the understanding of the students and Wagstaff on how they work and what is crucial to operation.

Tour of Little Falls Dam
The team took a trip up to the Little Falls Dam which is near Spokane in order to get an in person look of a working Francis Turbine and look at key components such as the Wicket Gates.

Deliverables

 * 3D model of a Francis Turbine on solidworks using add ons such as geomagic to assist in creation.
 * Prelimary research on how to reverse engineer a part
 * Scaled model of a Francis Turbine with a scale ratio of 1/40 which uses air as the working fluid instead of water, operating wicket gates and a way to measure power output

Stack Soft
This software allows for the user to look at tolerances and determine which dimensions attribute the most to error. This allows for decisions to be made in order to reduce costs when machining parts.

Geomagic
Geomagic is a software add on that allows for parts that have been scanned using a laser or light scanner and place them into Solidworks to create a solid model out of them.

Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM)
A tool used at the University of Idaho to obtain accurate measurements from various parts.

Laser Scanner
A tool that the team was trained on to use in order to take objects and scan them so that they can be placed into modeling programs such as Solidworks.

3D Printer
A tool which was used to make a lot of the components of the scaled model, this was an inexpensive and time saving method that allowed for the creating of highly detailed parts as well as parts that were too small to be made on the lathe. By using the 3D printer it was possible to work on several parts at the same time

Vacuum Forming
A technique that was used to make one part that was too large for the table of the 3D printing machines. It involved having a blank placed down and placing material over the top which is then heated so that it forms to the blank. Lastly, the material is vacuumed to the blank by pulling air from understand the blank to ensure an accurate imprint on the material.

Document Archive
Meeting Minutes (Fall Semester)