Convert 3D scan mesh to one good surface

Rhino
1

Hello all,

I have a stl file of a 3D scan that I want to convert into a single surface or body in Rhino 7. There should be only a few or no deviations as possible. I would like to continue working with the 3D in a CAD programme.

Is there one or more functions that can make this possible? Do I need an additional plug-in for this?

Thank you for your help.

2

Hi @Nina
Well, “It depends” is probably the most accurate answer. It depends on how good you are with Rhino, it depends on the geometry, it depends on what other CAD program you plan on using downstream, it depends on the quality of the scan… and probably other factors as well. But short answer is yes, there are plenty of ways to skin that cat. A great discussion here, some older input here - especially the videos at the top.
If you want a more detailed answer, you need to provide more info on your project.
HTH, Jakob

3

Hi @Normand

thanks for your quick answer.

My company is planning to buy a 3D scanner and would like to find a suitable software for reverse engineering. A colleague mentioned Rhino and so it became my task to test this programme in this context.

My conclusion will be that Rhino is not designed for reverse engineering and that such a reverse engineering can be done (via detours), but never as accurately as desired.

Do you agree with me?

4

Nina, what tolerance are you looking for? how big is the object and how accurate is your scan?

Even a $200,000 scanner has a lot of ‘fuzz’

Cockroach has some great tools (poisson reconstruction) but you are going to have to clean your mesh first. Cloud compare works great as well.

5

Again, not really, but perhaps. You still haven’t told us what it is you are reverse engineering, the scale, the precision needed etc. Also - and this is a very important point - there’s the price of dedicated reverse engineering software. One the industry standards, Geomagic, will run you close to 20.000$ IIRC - just for the software :grimacing:
And are you looking for NURBS output or cleaned up meshes? Will it be for production or visualisation? So many questions, so little info. But yes, Rhino is not a specialized tool for reverse engineering. But do take a look at Mesh2Surface for Rhino - it might be what you are looking for.
-Jakob

6

Hi Nina -

Jakob basically asked this, but how do you intend to “continue working” with the model?
If you detail your expectations, it would be easier to answer your question.
… and users such as @Mike_A have a lot of experience with working off scanned objects:

-wim

7

I own an Artec Eva and a Leo 3D scanner. Post processing of the scan data is done in Artec Studio.

Depending on the project you can create closed meshes in Artec Studio. In addition to the mesh output you can fit CAD features such as cylinders, planes, spheres and even freeform shapes onto scanned objects.