iSEEK Corporation announces the release of CADSEEK Mobile, creating an entirely new capability for engineering shape search. CADSEEK Mobile searches 3D CAD databases using 2D photos of parts taken on an Android, iOS or Windows mobile device. CADSEEK Mobile enables several important use cases, including:
Identification & Substitution
In an assembly plant, orphaned parts are set aside for identification, but the lack of labor resources often leads to the inventory being scrapped.
In the field, technicians and parts counter personnel must often play detective, trying to identify parts with few clues to assist them. Similarly, service parts often have substitutes that are identical except differences in material or color, or that can be made to work with minor modification. However, that information is typically not available from part numbers. CADSEEK Mobile understands geometric shape, allowing it to simultaneously identify a design and also find highly similar variants that might substitute in time-critical situations.
3D Printing
CADSEEK Mobile can match a design from its 2D photo, not only to native CAD formats but also to the STL format, providing an efficient path from photo to 3D printer. According to Dr. Abir Qamhiyah, CEO of iSEEK Corporation, "Driven by the need to cut inventory cost and speed delivery, On-Demand Manufacturing will mainstream the fabrication of service parts by 3D printing. Currently, the obstacle is in asking the user to upload a CAD file to get an instantaneous quotation. The end-user requiring the service parts, on the other hand, does not have access to CAD models."
CADSEEK Mobile provides the solution by bridging the gap between a worn-out part, and that part's digital representation, which is required for 3D printing.
"On-Demand Manufacturing will motivate providers to evolve from being 3D printing hardware centers, to also becoming digital content licensors of the files needed for on-demand manufacturing of service parts. CADSEEK Mobile enables this evolution by allowing the end-user to take a photo of a needed part. The on-demand manufacturer can then use CADSEEK Mobile technology to identify the part's digital representation, 3D print it and ship it to the customer," explains Dr. Qamhiyah.
Although CADSEEK Mobile has already been evaluated and acquired by a leading global manufacturer of heavy equipment, CADSEEK Mobile's technology is not limited to mechanical designs. CADSEEK Mobile's shape search algorithms are able to match a 2D photo of any shape to similar 3D digital representations including CAD models or STL files. To produce 3D replicas of statues, sculptures, jewelry or other items, the user would first capture a 2D image of the object. As shown in Figure_1, this could be a photo of the actual article, a photograph of an image on a computer display, or even a hand-drawn sketch on the screen of a tablet using the sketch module within CADSEEK Mobile.
The 2D image is then used to initiate a search by CADSEEK Mobile to identify similar shaped objects in one or more databases as shown in Figure_2. The specific selection from the search results will then provide a digital representation STL file for the 3D printing process. Finally, the 3D printer fabricates the finished product for use by the consumer, Figure_3.
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