Made possible by Geomagic’s partnership with CAD software makers, Live Transfer initiates an instantaneous rebuilding of the new geometry inside the targeted CAD program. Live Transfer, perhaps the most powerful feature of Design X, lets you send the newly constructed geometry to popular CAD packages, including SolidWorks, AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, and (the latest addition to the supported list) Solid Edge. At any given moment, you can check the new geometry you’re building against the original scan data to identify how close (or how far apart) the two are. One of the useful feature of Design X is its deviation detection system. From those regions, you can extract splines and curves you can use to build 2D profiles for extrusion. The software automatically subdivides the scan data into regions, identifiable from their distinct geometric features (rounded corners, holes, curved surfaces, and so on). The latest version sports a Tab (Ribbon) interface, a departure from the menu driven interface of the past. It comes with a rich set of tools to help you extract and convert scan data into editable geometry. The company’s Geomagic division (the result of its 3013 acquisition of Geomagic) offers Geomagic Design X, described as a reverse-engineering software.

One program that reduces the manual workload comes from 3D Systems, a rapid-prototyping system provider. It still demands a fair amount of engineering intuition and manual modeling. Many wish the conversion could be a template-driven, button-click operation. But converting the scanner-generated point-cloud data into editable solid or surface geometry is not as straightforward. This gives you the chance to import real-life geometry into your 3D modeling program as point clouds or meshes for modeling reference, much in the same way a digital artist might import a photograph into his favorite vector or raster drawing program to use as guide.

Completed pipe model after LiveTransfer to SOLIDWORKS from Geomagic Design X (image courtesy of 3D Systems, Geomagic).Īrmed with an affordable handheld scanner or a tabletop digitizer, you can easily capture the contours and profiles of vases with odd shapes, sacred sculptures, and archaeological finds.

Geomagic design x tutorial