From a 3D point cloud to an engineering CAD model: a knowledge-product-based approach for reverse engineering

Abstract : Reverse engineering (RE) is an area of current interest in which physical models are measured or digitised to obtain a virtual model. Currently, geometric models are rebuilt using geometric approaches. These models are generally frozen (i.e. not parameterisable and not easy to modify). This paper deals with a new knowledge-based approach for reverse engineering that enables nonfrozen computer-aided design (CAD) models. According to the product knowledge, we propose to assist CAD software application user to build the tree structure of the product. The proposed approach aims to obtain an engineering CAD model by merging existing geometric approach and the tree structure of the product.