Modeling

3D Surface Modeling

Laser scans produce point clouds or polymesh. While these .stl and/or .asc files are great to pull out specific points, you cannot reproduce a mold, create a cutter path, or make any adjustments to the file from these. That’s where 3D Surface Modeling (also known as surfacing) comes into play. It places a surface on your point cloud of data, essentially building a new visual model for your product.

Made to Measure utilizes PTC Creo Parametric (formerly Pro Engineer) modeling with conventional surfacing tools, as well as those included with the special Reverse Engineering Extension, to create a three-dimensional, fully-surfaced product on the screen, so you can visualize your product in its entirety. The extension allows our technicians to import point cloud data, transform it into a triangulated mesh model, and subsequently model both free-form and analytic surfaces, using the mesh model as a three-dimensional reference.

CAD Deviation Analysis

Deviation analysis (also known as color deviation analysis) is used to verify the integrity of the modeled data with reference to the mesh model, ensuring that all information and reproductions are accurate.

We can create a digital image of your physical product via laser scanning (in excess of one million points). Aligning the points to the original CAD model, we are able to determine the distance between each digital point to its closest surface. The area of that surface is then colored by the analysis software, according to the magnitude of the deviation. The data can also be used to create .stl, .stp, and/or .igs files.

Increasing your production line’s accuracy and efficiency starts with quality measurements and that’s where CAD Deviation Analysis comes into play.