Reverse Engineering

Collecting your point cloud data with laser scanner or digitizing probe is the easy part of reverse engineering, the hard part is turning them into a nice surface or solid. The software below can make this part of the operation a lot easier but you will have to dig deep because this type of software don’t come cheap.

RapidForm2000 allows you to build 3D models of defect-free and high quality polygon or freeform surfaces from 3D point cloud or polygon meshes. RapidForm2000 effectively adapts its advantages  to any application fields. Time and cost savings can be dramatic in your own situations.

CopyCad is a Reverse Engineering product which can interface with any Coordinate measuring machine, optical, laser and touch trigger scanner to read their point cloud data.

Geomagic Wrap is a stand-alone software package capable of automatically creating 3D polygonal models and splines from arbitrary point cloud data for reverse engineering and computer graphics applications. Wrap outputs a variety of formats including high-quality, water-tight STL files for rapid prototyping. The software is very easy to use and can be mastered in one day without special training. Wrap currently operates on Win 95/98, Win NT, and Silicon Graphics workstations. A free evaluation copy of Wrap can be downloaded from www.geomagic.com.   $3495  

Metris Base is used for point cloud manipulation. Metris Base has a complete tool set to manipulate point clouds. It is typically used to postprocess digitized point clouds and preprocess this point cloud for further use in Metris Surface, Metris Solid or Metris CADCompare.

Surface   After preparing your point cloud in Metris Base, Metris Surface allows you to reconstruct your CAD surface model based on the digitized points. Metris Surface has all tools needed to define NURBS curves and surfaces on the points. A complete surface modeller with surface editing and analysis tools enables you to finish your CAD surface model.

CADCompare   After preparing your point cloud in Metris Base, Metris CADCompare allows you to compare the point cloud with a surface model, a solid model, a STL model or another point cloud. Metris CADCompare performs this dimensional CAD inspection and generates automatically a full customizable report.

I don’t know how much these programs cost but I think if you need to ask you can’t afford them

Quicksurf 5.1 is a fast, powerful general purpose surface modeling system running inside of AutoCAD Releases 12 - 14. Thousands of people use Quicksurf daily for generation and annotation of contour maps,  profiles, sections and volumetric computation. Quicksurf converts surface  mapping data such as point or break line data into contours, grids, triangulated  irregular networks (TIN), and triangulated grids. A suite of sophisticated tools  allows you to manipulate modeled surfaces into high quality finished maps and  perform a variety of engineering computations.

Quicksurf meets the needs of a broad range of  professional disciplines such as civil, environmental, petroleum and mining engineering, geologic mapping and exploration, surveying, photogrammetry and topographic mapping, landscape architecture, oceanography and surface visualization.     $1695
 

Paraform software adds structure and usability to unstructured 3D data by  converting them into usable surfaces or solids for downstream applications.     $17,000

RevQuick is a new solution for Mastercam users that can automatically transform a 3D cloud of points into a watertight surface for manufacturing. RevQuick creates a model that can be output in most standard formats, including IGES, STL, VRML, and  ASCII. The difference between RevQuick and previous solutions is Geomagic's  patented algorithms for automatically generating accurate surfaces without the need for user expertise. The software is specifically targeted for the  tool-and-die and molding industries.        $10,000

Imageware Surfacer provides application driven solutions in the areas of free form product design, rapid surfacing, high quality surfacing, reverse engineering, computer aided verification, polygonal modeling, rapid prototyping, class-1 surfacing and surface healing. It enables customers to design, accurately build, and fully inspect high quality, free form shaped products in less time.