Plastic intake manifolds feature light weight, poor thermal conductivity and low air resistance. Meanwhile, they can be formed in a single operation during production with a high pass rate, reducing costs by 20%‑35% compared with aluminum intake manifolds. A client requires reverse engineering for an intake manifold measuring 380×330×180. The data will be imported into a computer for minor modifications before mold opening to achieve high‑efficiency and low‑cost mass production.

        The intake manifold is a structurally complex component. It has numerous dead corners, and the reinforcing ribs on its surface vary greatly in shape. If an ordinary commercial 3D scanner available on the market is used, problems such as failed data alignment and low accuracy on the reinforcing‑rib sections may occur.

The intake manifold refers to the intake pipeline from the carburetor or throttle body to the intake port of the cylinder head. Its function is to distribute the air‑fuel mixture from the carburetor or throttle body to the intake ports of each cylinder and ensure driving safety. Strict tolerance requirements apply to the connection dimensions between the intake manifold and the engine, and the installation of various sensors and actuators on the manifold also needs to be highly accurate. Therefore, significant errors must not occur starting from data acquisition.

Given the complex structure and high‑precision requirements of the intake manifold, Holon engineers adopted the industrial‑grade 3D scanner HL‑3DS+. It features fast scanning speed, low optical distortion and high scanning accuracy.

Intake manifold after powder coating and patch bonding

Scan the site

Scanning Steps:

Spray developing agent (to enhance the contrast of the workpiece surface background color and obtain more complete and higher‑quality scanning data)

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Attach marker points (to realize automatic alignment of scanning data)

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3D Scanning

(One‑click shooting with simple operation. Adjust the angle of the object or equipment so that the lens can capture every side of the object.)

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Point cloud data and STL data (High‑precision 3D data that can be converted into various formats for reverse design)

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Import data into CNC machining equipment to manufacture the mold, goal achieved

The computer is processing data

Intake manifold point cloud data
Intake Manifold STL Data