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Reverse engineering and 3D laser scanning

Reverse engineering is the process of reproducing an element by extracting surfaces or sketches from a scanned point cloud or mesh to create a CAD model. The product reflects how it was originally designed. Reverse engineering is becoming a more popular method of creating a 3D model of a part that does not have previous CAD files. This process has saved many professionals and companies time and costs, as well as an increase in quality in design processes and time to market.


Laser scanning produces a cloud consisting of millions of points in 3D space. These 3D points can easily be converted into an STL file to be used in preserving your data or for 3D printing at any scale. However, the mesh data by itself cannot be easily edited or manipulated without highly specialized software. Using software, you can completely convert 3D scanned data into a useful parametric CAD model. With the parametric model, you can open the model with editing software (e.g. SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor ...), access the feature tree, and easily edit sketches and design features.


The 3D scanner is ideal for reverse engineering. The collected data is projected as a point cloud, which is a three-dimensional image of the scanned object. This allows us to create virtual assemblies that allow us to detect overlap and check the fit of parts.

Reverse engineering of industrial structures - architecture with 3D laser scanner - point cloud
Reverse engineering of industrial structures - architecture with 3D laser scanner - point cloud

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