Reverse engineering is paramount to multiple industries such as manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, and healthcare. Professional-grade 3D scanning has a broad range of applications, including product improvement and reconstruction, design augmentation, generative design and simulation, and many others. The world today would not be the same without it.
Whether it be an out-of-production car part or a detailed tooling insert, the capabilities of high-end 3D scanning technology have changed the way we approach digital fabrication.
For the 3D printing industry, 3D scanners have become an essential part of the process of designing and modeling parts and components. There are different types of 3D scanners, each designed to meet different needs. Applications vary in requirements; usually, it is a combination of higher accuracy, resolution, or capture speed.
What really matters when choosing a 3D scanner?
Choose the appropriate scanner for the type of object you wish to scan and the result you wish to achieve. For example, if you need to scan something very small, choose a 3D scanner that is able to capture the small details of the object in high resolution. If you need to 3D scan something from a distance, choose a long-range scanner. Another criterion is the software, which is an integral part of 3D scanning.
Often, we see customers jump into 3D scanning without fully understanding the entire workflow required. Regardless of whether it’s reverse engineering, preparation for part reproduction via 3D printing, or even metrology-level inspection — if you do not consider the tools, both hardware and software, required to complete the job, you may find yourself with an expensive 3D scanner that only partially solves your problem.
The Rapid 3D team will walk you through this minefield … before you make a purchase decision.
Production 3D Scanners for Industrial Applications and Reverse Engineering
Rapid 3D are the Open Tech 3D partner in Southern Africa. Open Tech 3D manufacture high accuracy 3D scanners for industrial service and reverse engineering, at an affordable price. They also have a range of 3D scanners designed for Dental Labs.
The accurate and realistic 3D data from the COPYT 3D and COPYT 3D FX can be used for a variety of purposes, including industrial design, rapid prototyping, archaeology, medicine and so much more.
Art and culture in all its forms, from archaeology, to archiving, to rendering. Applications include education, training and cultural preservation.
Fashion manufacturing, from shoe factories to accessories and details, where personalisation and validation of materials and styles is required.
Jewellery, goldsmithing, watchmaking, gemmology, numismatics: all areas where the detail and peculiarity of minute surfaces require the utmost precision.
Production, customisation and industrial design of moulds. 3D scanning can also be used for inspection and quality control for the supply chain.
Metrology-grade Professional 3D Scanners
We find that structured light systems are best for 3D scanning objects where both the colour and texture data are important, as well as the underlying 3D geometry. By contrast, laser scanners tend to be faster and a better option when speed and details are the key criteria for a scan.
Rapid 3D is the only certified Artec 3D partner in Southern Africa. Achieving this official certification required demonstrating ‘exceptional’ practical and complex 3D scanning and software knowledge and capability. The certification gives you the security of knowing that we can provide effective support.
Akhani 3D, our 3D print service bureau sister company has given our engineers lots of experience with 3D scanning and processing a wide range of objects.
Artec 3D are a multi-award winning 3D scanning vendor. Going head-to-head with over a dozen world-renowned 3D scanner companies, Artec 3D won the 2019 3D Scanning / Metrology Company of the Year award from the leading 3D tech publication 3D Printing Industry. That after Artec’s most cutting-edge 3D scanner, the Artec Leo won yet another significant award; the Golden Mousetrap Award for the best device in the Test & Measurement category.
Thanks to their high precision, Artec 3D scanners have a wide range of applications in industrial design and manufacturing. Commonly used during various stages of product design development and implementation, these powerful 3D scanning tools significantly speed up the workflow, making it easier to get the required object data and create customized automated capturing solutions.
While all the Artec 3D scanners are great for reverse engineering and quality control, the best industrial 3D scanner, the Artec Space Spider, is used for capturing small objects and complex geometry with the highest precision. The Artec Eva is able to 3D scan larger objects with both speed and accuracy. Neither scanner requires the user to stick targets on the object.
Seamless export of the 3D models to a variety of widely used CAD and CAM programs allows users to conduct a large variety of tests for quality control, acquire necessary measurements and other data for reverse engineering, object integration, and more.
Learn about Artec 3D industrial 3D scanning applications:
- How one foundry uses “crazy efficient” Artec Eva to slash up to 75% off production time, cut losses, and more.
- Hyundai – Quality control of automobile seats.
- Improved Manufacturing Process with Artec 3D and Geomagic Control X.