ServicesScan-to-CAD

3D Scanning Services for Parts, Products and Objects

A 3D scan of a part gives you its shape as a file: the surfaces the scanner reaches, captured as a mesh you can print, archive, design around or rebuild into CAD. We provide 3D scanning services for parts, products and objects in every US state, from a machined bracket to a whole machine, with a handheld metrology scanner for objects up to about four metres and a terrestrial laser scanner for larger ones. The scan is done where the object is, and the files come back in the formats your software reads.

What you get

The deliverable is a cleaned mesh of the scanned surface in STL, or in OBJ or PLY when your software prefers them, with the gaps in the scan closed, the stray points removed and the part oriented to a sensible origin. If you have no CAD model and need one, the mesh is rebuilt into a parametric solid in STEP, the ISO 10303-21 exchange format; that work is reverse engineering and has its own page. The handheld scanner records geometry only, so the mesh carries the shape of the part without its colour.

How a part is scanned

Objects from about five centimetres to four metres, the brochure's recommended range, are scanned with a handheld scanner of the HandySCAN SILVER class. The brochure gives it fourteen blue laser lines over a scanning area of 310 by 350 mm, an accuracy of up to 0.040 mm as its typical value for diameter measurements on a calibrated sphere, and a volumetric accuracy of 0.020 mm plus 0.100 mm per metre measured on a calibrated length artefact with its photogrammetry targets. It lists the scanner's measurement capabilities at a working distance of 0.3 m as a pin of 1.00 mm, a hole of 1.50 mm, a step of 0.030 mm and a wall of 0.75 mm. The laser is class 2M and eye safe, and the scanner itself weighs 0.94 kg, so it is carried to the object: a casing is scanned on the pump, a die in the press shop. The operator watches the mesh grow on the laptop while scanning and goes back over any patch the lines have not yet covered.

Objects beyond that range, a production line or a monument, are scanned with the terrestrial scanner of the Trimble X7 class described on the 3D laser scanning page, which holds a 3D point accuracy of 2.4 mm at 10 m (one standard deviation) by its datasheet. When one machine has a large frame and a few small critical features, the two scans are registered together, the terrestrial scan for the frame and the handheld scan for the features.

What scans well and what needs preparation

Matte and lightly textured surfaces scan as they are. Polished metal, black rubber and transparent plastic return the laser lines poorly, so those parts are coated with a thin matting spray that wipes off after the scan; on an optical surface or a finished product where no spray is allowed, the shiny areas come through with gaps, and the delivery notes say where. Deep bores, internal passages and the inside of a closed casting are beyond any surface scanner, and a part that has to be documented inside and out is sectioned or measured at its openings with gauges, which is agreed before the part is touched. Very small parts, below the brochure's five-centimetre floor, and very fine threads sit at the edge of what the laser lines can capture, and the quote says what will and will not be in the mesh of such a part before it is scanned. CT scanning for internal features is not offered.

What the scan is used for

A part scan usually serves one of a few purposes. The commonest is a replacement with no drawing: the scan goes to reverse engineering and comes back as a CAD model, or straight to a 3D printer as a mesh when a printed copy will do. The second is fit: a new housing has to close around a motor that exists, or a machine has to go into a building that exists, and the scan of the existing object is the reference the new design is drawn around; when the existing object is a building, the terrestrial scanner does that job. The last is the record itself, a sculpture, an artefact or a prototype about to be changed, kept as a mesh. The propeller guide follows one part through the first two.

Price and time

A scan with a cleaned mesh is quoted on the part's size and surface: a single machined part is a short job, a large casting with deep features or a set of parts takes longer. Reverse engineering of a single part, the scan and the CAD model together, starts at about $1,000. The exact price comes in a quote within one business day of your sending photographs of the part, its approximate size and what the scan is for. A single part is usually scanned in a day, the mesh usually follows within a few days, and a CAD model usually takes one to two weeks. We scan in all 50 states.

Frequently asked questions about 3D scanning of parts

What is a 3D scanning service for parts?

Measuring a physical part with a 3D scanner and delivering its shape as a mesh file, which can be printed, used as the reference for a new design or rebuilt into a CAD model.

What size of object can you scan?

The handheld scanner's recommended range is about five centimetres to four metres by its brochure. Larger objects and machines are scanned with a terrestrial scanner, and the two scans are registered together when a part has both a large frame and small details.

How accurate is the scan?

The handheld scanner is rated at up to 0.040 mm by its brochure, as a typical value for diameter measurements on a calibrated sphere, with a volumetric accuracy of 0.020 mm plus 0.100 mm per metre under the brochure's test conditions. The terrestrial scanner used for large objects holds a 3D point accuracy of 2.4 mm at 10 m (one standard deviation) by its datasheet.

Which file formats do you deliver?

STL by default, OBJ or PLY on request, and STEP when a CAD model is ordered.

Can you scan a part for 3D printing?

Yes. The cleaned mesh in STL, with the gaps in the scan closed, is what a printer or a print service takes; printing itself is not part of the service.

Do you scan on site?

Yes. The handheld scanner is carried to the object, in your shop, your plant or wherever it stands, in every US state.

How much does 3D scanning of a part cost?

A scan with a cleaned mesh is quoted on the part's size and surface. Reverse engineering, the scan with a CAD model, starts at about $1,000 per part. The quote arrives within one business day.