Producing Geometry You Can Trust

Reverse engineering is the process of taking a finished product and reconstructing design data in a format from which new parts or molds can be produced.

- The Society of Manufacturing Engineers

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Please include the following information in your request:

  1. Description of your project and how you will use the file after you receive it.
    For example: Will the file be simply a visual reference, used for cutting tooling, for making an SLS or SLA? Will you need to edit individual features in the geometry or offset from the geometry?


  2. Level of output you will need:
    (Click on each output to learn more.)

    A. POINT CLOUD Learn More > 

    Scanned point clouds are typically used in editing and surfacing software such as Geomagic, Polyworks, Rapidform or Rhino. Decimated point clouds can also be imported into Pro-E as a reference for modeling.

    This file retains its raw 3D point position accuracy from the scan.

    File extensions: .asc .txt .xyz

    B. POLYGONAL MODEL Learn More > 

    Point cloud is edited and converted to a polygonal model (points are now connected by polygons). For use in SLS, SLA part production and some machining applications. A very heavy file that cannot be handled by many systems.

    This file is the highest level accuracy surface model. It will retain detail down to human skin texture.

    File extensions: .stl

    C. NON-PARAMETRIC SURFACE Learn More > 

    Surfaced non-parametric NURBS file. Best described as carefully “laying” a fish-net over every feature on the object to accurately represent surface variation. This file cannot be thickened or off-set from. Individual features cannot be changed in this type of model because there are no parametric features such as radii, circles, planes, etc for the software to calculate from.

    Useful in a non-parametric application such as an organic object. Also useful for visual and dimensional reference.

    File extensions: .igs .stp

    D. NATIVE PARAMETRIC SOLID Learn More >

    A scan does not produce a parametric file that is simply converted into SolidWorks, Pro-E, or any other CAD platform. The part geometry has to be generated as if it were designed from scratch. For parametric modeling, the scan is used only as a reference and for quality verification. Curves, radii, planes, and arcs are created in a CAD environment for every individual feature on the part. You can offset and edit this file because it has a mathematical, parametric foundation from which to develop a shape from.

    Fully functional native parametric in SolidWorks, Pro-E.

    File extensions: .sldprt .slddrw .sldasm .prt .drw .asm or class "A" neutral files: .igs .stp .x_t (parasolid)


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