Options for CAD Reverse Engineer Export

[[Me...]]

Apart from individual .dxf, .vda, or acis files, are there any options to export 3D data as, say, a step, iges, etc?

Application being a simple ring. Id like to measure the outside AND inside as separate cylinders with very high point density (and top plane) and somehow have the ability to form a 3d model with a common center and rotation, which holds on to form and size. In the end, these CAD models could be used for FEA analysis.

I've tried a few things with recalling features into 3d curves but not luck.

Any suggestions?

[[No...]]

I don't know if I remember correctly, but the new STL evaluation feature may also have a save option in STL format.
But regardless of which save format you use, Calypso won't (can't) generate a proper model description from measurement data. What you measure are just points in the end. To make a model out of them you need a separate reverse engineering software to create surface descriptions etc. And such a package should be able to read simple point lists even in plain text format, so no special save format should be needed (otherwise it's not worth its money).

[[Me...]]

Norbert, would you list a few pieces of software as an example? We're just getting started on reverse engineering.

[[No...]]

Ahem 😕 , we don't use reverse engineering (yet) 🤣
But we bought an optical scanner last year and in the run-up we had a short demonstration of Zeiss' "Reverse Engineering" software. There are many more out there, but don't ask me names. I just know a little bit of the theory behind it. I read somewhere that professional CAD packages often have basic reverse engineering functionality too.

[[Ow...]]

Yeah, I believe creating a cad model with the actual form deviation of the feature "not going to happen" with Calypso.

Best you can do is export the actual points and import them into parametric cad software (solidworks, Pro-E autocad, etc.etc.) to make the model surface out of splines or point-cloud's, which is not parametric but, polygonal modeling.

I've just started working with laser and optical scanners and have tried several types of software used to make polygonal cad models. I've tried Dezign-works, Polyworks and Geomagic Design-X and Geomagic Design-X has worked best but, you better have a good scanner and be very good with parametric cad creating software to create actual parametric cad models.

The biggest issue I have with 3D laser scanners is that I've worked the last 15 years with CMM's and getting the most repeatable and accurate results and you can throw that accuracy concept out the window with laser scanners. i.e. when the laser scan says it's good, I don't believe it.

Zeiss's Metrotom-Industrial computed tomography (CT) machines (basically x-ray machines) look to be the best way to reverse engineer something because you can also see inside cavities but, I know nothing about them and that's basically because I don't have gold teeth.

Hundreds of videos out there from several different companies showing how easy it is to reverse engineer a product with their equipment but, IT IS NOT as easy as the videos say it is.