[TxBxSx]

I have been buried in researching scanner hardware and software for a few weeks. My goal is to try and put together a hardware/software packaged that will allow me to take large volume scans primarily for reference geometry. I would like to be able to get my scan data into solidworks so that I can design new products around them.

Example. Scan vehicles to capture body panel locations and frame mounting locations so that I may build replacement panels/bumpers ect...

NextEngine has some awesome software that gives you capabilities of other software that is soooo much more expensive, but the hardware leaves something to be desired when it comes to scan volumes and speed. Fore this reason, I have been looking at the David Scanner system which is faster and has be ability to be configured in a manner that can easier handle larger scan volumes. But, David's software will only take your scan data as far as an STL file, which does me little to no good in Solidworks.

In a perfect would, I would be able to buy the david hardware and nextengine software and use them together....but I feel like this might be asking too much, compatibility between competition. I would really like to be able to use the David system mesh creation software with nextengine's CAD Tools and RapidWorks softwares.

Can anyone tell me weather or not this is feasible?

[victorofga]

for small projects, objects the nextengine probably works great...

to scanning an object like a car sized, you need different type scanner..
virtually even the Kinect hack should work.. because after you have a model, you can adjust it in any modeling program.. or pull on a new topology..

since scanning output to stl you might can use the meshmixer by autodesk... a free program to aligning meshes together.. and making Boolean operations between..

a ready to go system very expenses...

somewhere between the lowcost lightscanners, and creaform what is high cost, theres the Konica Minolta... about 14K...

on other hand you can get 3d model just about all exist vehicle..
then you have a ready model, and you can start to match the model to real life cars.. and this would be the most affordable to start..

from scan you pull to meshmixer.. put together the scans.. reducing triangles
then you pull into a modeling p[rogram like maya lite, (30 dollar per month)

then you can create your model, you can use in solidworks if anyway like that..
actually you need a program that can work with mesh and solids at time.. like fusion 360

[awerby]

The Nextengine scanner uses a special licensed version of Rapidform (now Geomagic DesignX) to translate its output into Solidwork's STEP format, and perform reverse-engineering functions. It only works with the Nextengine native format, though. If you got the full version of Geomagic DesignX, it would be able to work with the output from the David scanner.

[TxBxSx]

The Nextengine scanner uses a special licensed version of Rapidform (now Geomagic DesignX) to translate its output into Solidwork's STEP format, and perform reverse-engineering functions. It only works with the Nextengine native format, though. If you got the full version of Geomagic DesignX, it would be able to work with the output from the David scanner.

Yeah, I spoke with a reseller for geomagic. Retail of that software is 19,500...oh and they also sell creaform's scanners that range from 25,000-54,000.

While that would be the ideal solution, it's just not in the budget for a start up. At this point I'd like to try and stay below 10k, and not have to wrestle with software and managed every single line of the mesh one at a time....at that point I'm faster with my tape measure and building out a prototype.

[ScanGuide]

I think the topic is still interesting. We decided to explore some useful software for mesh processing. You can find what we've got at the moment on our YT channel. Thanks for your feedback in advance!

[jmullett]

I've had some limited opportunity to work with large scale vehicle scans Steinbichler (white light scanner) and Polyworks and Raindrop Geomagic Studio and also a Shape Grabber (laser scanner) and Geomagic plugged into Solidworks. Polyworks seemed to be powerful in direct surface editing and patching/fitting, but a bit steeper learning curve than Geomagic Studio.

The Geomagic for Solidworks plugin product is a real win if your goal is reverse engineering into parametric Solidworks features. Especially for prismatic surfaces and extracting extrusion sketches right within the Solidworks environment. Still has a substantial spend, but a bit less at $7900 with first years of maintenance.

It sounds to me as though your products will just interface with the scanned object so a good quality noise reduced "dumb" surface would probably be all that is necessary. If I were you I'd be looking at a structured light technology either white or blue, and you might find it in your interest to talk to a company who does 3D scanning and engineering as a service full time. You might find that hiring it out will free your time up to focus on your product development, and be less time, money, and frustration on your part in the long run.



You might find this, albeit dated, article a good read:
How to Choose 3D Point-Cloud Processing Software - Digital Engineering

[edonguyen]

I'm just here to chill and learn experience !! :wave:

[Oakenfeld]

The Geomagic for Solidworks plugin product is a real win if your goal is reverse engineering into parametric Solidworks features. Especially for prismatic surfaces and extracting extrusion sketches right within the Solidworks environment. Still has a substantial spend, but a bit less at $7900 with first years of maintenance.

Our office works with Artec scanner and we bought Geomagic plugin for €6320 if i'm not mistaken. That's about $7,300. It's worth its money by 100%, but maybe a little too expensive for a small company