Reverse engineering in the field of laser scanning means the preparation of CAD objects from point cloud data. This uses - in contrast to modeling - trigonal meshes based on the point cloud. When using this technique a net of triangles is laid atop of the point cloud. This net can then be converted into trimmed surfaces. This way CAD-capable free formed surfaces are obtained that can be used later in construction programs.
Mesh tools are implemented in many software packages. For reverse engineering it is best to use special software that can solve this task for different types of scan systems and with a wide range of tools.
A typical task in reverse engineering laser scanning are retranslations of surfaces, e.g. of the body of ships or monuments. If the objects are composed of both detailed and large structures one should combine several scan systems as 3D laser scanners can scan short distances well, but the diameter of the laser spot is usually several millimeters. This makes it difficult to measure very detailed structures. Reverse engineering software can combine work with point clouds from different scanning systems.
