Hexagon to team up with welder Josh Welton at FABTECH to reverse-engineer his latest creation

Josh Welton sculpture to be scanned during the FABSCAN Challenge Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 2:00 p.m. in booth B9001 at FABTECH®, which runs Nov. 6-8 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division, North Kingstown, R.I., has announced it will host a FABSCAN Challenge with artist Josh Welton on Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 2:00 p.m. in booth B9001 at FABTECH®, which runs Nov. 6-8 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

Welton is a veteran welding fabricator for his own company, Brown Dog Welding, and an accomplished metal artist. He will work with Hexagon scanning experts to execute a full scan of his latest metal sculpture, an artistic 3-D interpretation of an off-road vehicle. The sculpture presents many interesting and complex features and surface types for scanning, reverse engineering, and prototyping. Welton—a popular blogger and contributing writer to The FABRICATOR®, will write about his scanning experience and the tools, data modeling/analysis, and process to reverse-engineer a mold or a 3-D-printed version of his original work.

On hand for the scanning project will be Hexagon’s newly redesigned Absolute Arm and Scanner. This portable measuring arm features a configurable wrist design, enabling the operator to use the RS5 laser scanner and touch probe accessories in a variety of ergonomic options. Its compact scanning profile allows users to acquire 3-D data in small cavities or inside parts and fixtures.

"For years I had this idea to use one of my original sculptures as the basis for a limited series of bronze castings. Rather than carving the model from wax or clay, I built the sculpture from steel as a new twist on an old process. Now the technology exists to 3-D-scan the piece, and after that, the possibilities are endless," said Welton. "The data can be used to 3-D-print a mold or to replicate the sculpture itself in metal. On top of that, the ability to manipulate the data or to scale the piece up or down is huge. I am beyond stoked to partner with Hexagon on this project and looking forward to sharing the experience with the world!"