3D Scanning Services

Professional-Grade 3D Scanning from CAD/CAM Services

Our professional-grade 3D scanning services at CAD/CAM Services are among our most popular offerings. We have a lot of (very expensive) 3D scanners at our disposal. These scanners are expensive to own, and that makes them unviable for everyday engineering departments to have. Instead, you can leverage our equipment, experience, and staff to do all of the 3D scanning that your team requires.

3D scanning is very popular when it comes to reverse engineering any existing part. Our team can create a full 3D CAD model from a scanned point cloud in a fraction of the time it would take any team to physically measure and model the part.
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In short, our 3D scanning services are here to save you time and money on every reverse engineering, modeling, and/or part digitization projects. If you have a physical part that you need a CAD model of, consider our outsourced 3D scanning service.

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What Is 3D Scanning?

3D scanning utilizes 3D scanners to take data points in XYZ space and convert them into a functional CAD model. Most 3D scanners are handheld tools or permanent setups that require the scanner to rotate around the object that is getting scanned (or vice versa). The scanner will shoot lasers, lights, or sounds at the object and record how the data is reflected back.

Through some science, the scanner and accompanying software convert these bouncing light, laser, or soundwaves into tangible position points in X, Y, and Z. The points are all captured in a massive mess of points, called a point cloud. Another set of software can then translate a point cloud, potentially made up of tens of millions of position points, into a solid 3D CAD file.

3D scanning is a newer way to reverse engineer a part in minutes, instead of hours or days. With this technology, you don’t need to rely on calipers and manual measurements of a part — the entire part can be professionally measured without even touching the part.

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Why Professional 3D Scanning Matters

Outsourcing your 3D scanning makes sense for a number of reasons. For one, the equipment is very expensive and often unjustifiable for engineering departments that aren’t reverse engineering parts on a daily basis. By outsourcing this work to CAD/CAM Services, you can use our top-of-the-line 3D scanners without blowing your engineering budget.

In addition, 3D scanning is the quickest and most reliable way to get 3D CAD models of parts that you have physical access to. It could be a simple part like a bracket, or a complicated assembly like a full F-35 jet — and yes, our team at CAD/CAM Services has successfully scanned both of these parts and countless others.

However, 3D scanning should come with a warning. If you trust a company that doesn’t know what they’re doing, you’ll be left with a 3D CAD model that is incorrect. These companies will waste your time and money, and you won’t realize it until it’s too late.

This is why it’s imperative that you choose an outsourced 3D scanning company that has a long history of success in this space, like our crew at CAD/CAM Services.

Benefits of 3D Scanning from CAD/CAM Services

When you choose CAD/CAM Services for your 3D scanning projects, you will get incredible results. There are so many reasons to choose our 3D scanning service:

The fastest way to reverse engineer parts.

Reverse engineering a part with a 3D scanner almost seems unfair. We can finish a full project in a single day which could take your team weeks to do without our services.

Get OEM replacements from dissolved companies.

A lot of our customers are looking for replacement legacy parts from companies that don’t exist anymore. Utilize our 3D scanning services to create manufacturable CAD files to replace these hard-to-get parts.

Receive optimized 3D CAD models.

We put each 3D scan through a series of software that optimizes the parts and creates a solid part. We offer more reliability, precision, and speed than most other teams in the industry.

Fast turnarounds and affordable pricing.

We refuse to overcharge you for our work, and we never waste your time. You can get fully-optimized 3D CAD models from scanned objects in as little as 24 hours. We are here to save you as much time and money as possible.

Leverage industry-leading 3D scanning technology.

We have 3D scanners at our disposal that are over $100,000 — these scanners offer quality and precision that some projects need, which is why we have them in the first place. Instead of spending so much on your own scanner, simply allow our team to use our existing equipment to scan your parts.

What Goes Into 3D Scanning from CAD/CAM Services?

Our 3D scanning workflow is as streamlined and optimized as possible. When you choose to work with our team, we’ll start with a free consultation. During the consultation, you’ll tell us what you’re looking for, the purpose of your scanning needs, and the size and quantity of parts you need to be scanned. This information will allow us to assign the right people and equipment to your project.

From there, we’ll head to your site with our high-tech 3D scanners and trained personnel. We’ll do all of the scanning, and we typically do the CAD conversions on-site and check the quality with your team before we leave. For us, this is the best way to get a complete 3D scan and confirm its quality.

With one model finished, we’ll continue scanning until all of your parts are completely digitized.

Some of our customers bundle our 3D scanning and 3D printing services, which makes sense — this is a great way to expedite your full production process and get finished parts faster than ever. With our full-service in-house offerings, you can go from a physical part without any CAD model to an updated, new version of the same part within days.

Our team is here to support in whatever capacity we can. For some, that simply entails making scans and providing point cloud data. However, it’s much more common for us to generate full 3D CAD models and potentially 3D-printed parts with our services. With over 100 engineers and draftsmen on our team, you’ll quickly realize how much we can do for you.

More About 3D Scanning

The technology behind 3D scanning can be a bit confusing, but the results speak for themselves. After our first project together, you’ll notice how much power comes with our 3D scanning services. With a full spectrum of 3D scanners in our office, we can scan small parts with incredible precision, or massive parts like entire buildings or fighter jets.

To achieve the results through your engineering department, you would have to purchase multiple different, very expensive, 3D scanners. There is also an amount of upfront learning and training that comes with operating any 3D scanner.

Instead of going through all of those hoops, dealing with the headaches, and wasting time, you can utilize our services. We’ll handle all of the 3D scanning, CAD generation, and file sharing with you. All you have to do is point at the part you want to be digitized into a professional CAD model, and we’ll do everything else.

Get a Quote Today

Our incredible professionals at CAD/CAM Services have performed 3D scanning projects for some of the largest companies in the world. We have the skillset, equipment, and availability to handle your toughest, largest, and most difficult 3D scanning projects. Whether you need to create a digital twin of your entire warehouse, recreate a purchased part, or optimize an existing and undocumented part, we’re here to help.

Our professional 3D scanning services are positioned to save you time and money, while eliminating all of the headaches associated with sourcing, learning, and using new technology. Reach out today for a free quote, and speak to one of our 3D scanning experts to learn more.

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FAQ's

General CAD Questions

How do I send a sample, in order to get a quote?

Fill out our quote form, attach your files, or simply send us an email. Tell everything about your project, like the model purpose.

For smaller files < 15 MB you can simply email them to us. For something larger, just drop them in any number of drop boxes like Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and others. Or if you would like, just contact us for a private, hardened link.

It is fine to use most any time of compression such as *.zip, *.rar, *.tar, *.7z, *.arc, *.LBR, and even *.iso images.

A direct email is [email protected]

We also use a hardened OwnCloud web file sharing platform for unlimited file transfers. We provide unique and very private Web Storage Portals, this also supports file syncing for extreme convenience for you. Because so much of our work is DOD or weapons design work, Security – and confidentiality is very important to us.

Will CAD / CAM Services Sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)?

Yes. NDAs are a common part of our business. All data is yours – not ours, and treated as proprietary data and not for public consumption or use. Probably 70% of our work is under NDA agreements. We can generally get these signed within the day.

What is the estimated delivery time?

It depends on the scope of work:

2D drawings – small quantity, normally 48 hours. We have several customers where they contract to us, keeping 4-8 drafters busy full time.
3D models – complexity dependent, but smaller jobs in 2-3 days. Some models we have spent months on. Again, we have several customers where they contract to us, keeping 6-10 3D CAD designers busy full time.

Simple jobs have a lead time of 48 hours. Larger projects are delivered and invoiced weekly.

Did you really own the trademark Cad Perfect™, Cad Perfect CAD Conversions™ and Cad / Cam Services™?

Yes, we did back in 2008. We started using Cad Perfect™ back in the early 1990s because all of our customers wanted only real Cad Perfect™ work. Back then the buzz words were terms like machine ready, or DXF Traceover and others.

The problem is, nobody wanted that. They all wanted drawings and models that they did not have to touch. Everybody wanted drawings just as if they hand redrew the work themselves.

Thus, Cad / Cam Services™ was the first company to start offering ONLY Cad Perfect™ work.

Do you support the PPD-21 Directive?

Yes we do, and have now for several years. In addition, we also support the industry specific plans as well.

3D Scanning FAQs

How much does scanning services cost?

It depends on the complexity of the scanned model and material properties. As, for example, it may be much more complicated to properly scan an object with a reflective surface, than a non-reflective surface. It also depends on three main factors:

the physical size of your part
the required scanning resolution
if industrial CT or metallurgy scanning is needed

Simple quick cell phone photos are worth a thousand words to us. To know for sure you can request a quote. It is of course, free – and treated as if an NDA is already in place.

Some averages:

The typical 3D scan is somewhere around $200-400 per part.
Tomographic (CT) scanning is $600-900 per part.

Because so much of our business is Aerospace related, our scanning – and the completed CAD file HAS to be within ±.005” anywhere on that part, we never use consumer-grade scanners. The scanners we use start at $25,000 and go up to $700,000 (CT) per scanner.

At any given time, we have in excess of $ 5 million just in scanning hardware we use. In addition, a hidden factor of scanning on any system is the assembly and clean up of any scan. The rule of thumb is a 2-1 ratio. So even with our experienced scanning staff, if we spend one-hour scanning; we will then spend an additional two hours of clean up and assembly before our CAD group gets the Point Cloud file to simulate or reverse engineer.

What is the Point Cloud/Mesh/3D Scan?

A point cloud is thousands if not millions of data points located in space by X, Y, Z coordinates. Images of this nature are often captured with Faro Focus or Artec scanners that specialize in large-area scanning. Most likely you obtain building and territory plans in this file format.

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A polygon mesh is a set of triangles located in the same manner. These scans are obtained with Artec, Creaform, Enscan and other handheld scanners. Parts and reverse engineering device scans are usually polygon meshes.

What types of scanners do you use?

Faro Arm – Very good for most parts, fast and accurate
Turntable scanners – high accuracy, high detail, fast scanning. Great for smaller parts.
Portable handheld – may be favorable for some larger parts – if not a tripod-mounted scanner.
Long Range – these mount on a tripod, and are intended to scan buildings, plants, and other larger sized projects.
Industrial CT scanners – incredibly expensive, but they offer two main benefits – the ability to inside an object (think of a void in a solid object), and their accuracy. At this level, we are often in the ±.001” – ±.002” range, and often used in metrology scanning.

Which scanner models do you use?

CG360

CyberGage®360 CT scanners

EasyTom S CT Scanner by RX Solutions

CMM

Surveyor ZS-Series, Surveyor DS-Series

Faro Arms

FaroArm® – Portable 3D Measurement Arm for any application

Artec

Artec Space Spider 3D Scanner, Artec Eva & Eva Lite 3D Scanner

Faro

Focus 350 Plus for long range scanning

Leica

Leica RTC360

How accurate is 3D scanning?

The scanners we use are as accurate as the industry offers – from anybody at any cost. We use Faro and Artec 3D scanners, in addition to Faro CMM type arms, including the Surveyor tables. Depending on what scanner we use:

CT scanners – 4 to 400µm/voxel resolution
Artec Portable scanners high accuracy (0.03 – 0.05mm)
Artec Portable scanners high resolution (up to 0.15mm)
Our CyberGage 360 – generates highly precise full 360 degrees automated scan with accuracy NIST traceable to approximately 7 microns
The CyberGage 360 has a system repeatability of ±.005mm.