Advanced Output CenterSullivan Center, Rm. 1232
312 629 6688 / [email protected] document is available electronically at http://sites.saic.edu/aoc
Page: 1 of 14 LastModified:May 15, 2018 10:44 AM
Guidefor Geomagic Design X
GeneralInformation
3D Scan Data Cleanup and Editing
• Geomagic Design X(formerlyRapidformXOR)isanextremelypowerfulreverseengineeringand3Dmodelingsoftwarethatcombines3Dscandataprocessingwithhistory-basedCAD.GeomagicisnotpartofSAIC’ssoftwaretemplateandisveryexpensive;however,itisinstalledonalloftheAOC’slabcomputersinthefrontroomandcanbeusedatanytime.
• Geomagic workflow beyond scan data/STL cleanup and editing must beexplored through online tutorials on your own or with your professor. TheAOC also has checkout material on Geomagic that you can borrow.
Overview
This guide will cover:• Importingfiles• AlignmentofscansthroughMeshBuildupWizard• Outlierdeletion• Holefillingandhealingdefects• BuildingupGeometry• Surfacetreatments• Meshsplitting• Meshdecimation• Globalremeshingandrewrapping• Exporting
*Note: Beforeyoubeginthisworkflow,makesureyouhaveenoughtimetodedicatetothesoftware-lotsoftimeisrequiredofyouaseachoperationcantakealongtimetoprocess.ItisagoodideatocloseoutasmanyotherprogramsasyoucanbeforeopeningGeomagic.
ThroughGeomagic,wecanprepareincompleteandmessyscandatatobeoutputfor3Dprintingandotherapplicationssuchasstillimagerendersandanimation.
Advanced Output CenterSullivan Center, Rm. 1232
312 629 6688 / [email protected] document is available electronically at http://sites.saic.edu/aoc
Page:2of14 LastModified:May 15, 2018 10:44 AM
Importing files:
• Geomagicwillacceptmeshdata,pointdata,anykindofmodelfile(STL,OBJ,etc.),andindividualscanmeshestobealigned.Thefollowingworkflowwilltakeyouthroughimportingmultiplescanfiles,aligning,fusing,andediting.ThefirststepistogetourmultiplescansintoGeomagic.
• ThescansthatwereusedforthistutorialweredoneontheAOC’sNextEngine HD3DscannerandwereexportedasindividualSTLs.
• OnceinGeomagic,gouptothetopleftofthescreenandclick“Insert” andthen“Import”.
• Whentheimportscreenpopsup,selectallyourscanfilesbyholdingdowntheShiftkey.Ifyourfilesarenotshow-ingupinyourfolder,makesureyouchoose“All Supported Files”inthe“FilesofType”box.Next,forourpurposes,unchecktheboxfor“Points only”.Youcanalsosetyourunits intheunitbox.
• IfyouarejustimportingasingleSTLthatwon’tneedalignment,youcanchoose“Import Only”andskiptheMeshBuildupWizard.Forourpurposes,andforaligningmultiplescansfromNextEngineorArtecStudio,choose“Run Mesh Buildup Wizard”.
Advanced Output CenterSullivan Center, Rm. 1232
312 629 6688 / [email protected] document is available electronically at http://sites.saic.edu/aoc
Page:3of14 LastModified:May 15, 2018 10:44 AM
Mesh Buildup WIzard:
• Onceyourfileshaveloadedin,theMeshBuildupWizardmenuwillshowupinthetopleftofthescreenandyourindividualscanswillbeshowninarowatthebottom.Youwillalsoseearainbowpreviewofyourscansfusedtogether.
• Thenextstepinvolvesdeletingunwanteddata-forexample:theplatformortabletheobjectwasscannedon.Youcansimplyuseaselectiontool(foundatthebottomleftofthesoftware)toselecttheseareas.Whenyouletgoofthemousewhileselecting,theselectionwillturnblueandbelockedin.Youcanthenhitthedeletekeyonyourkey-boardtoridthedataoftheunwantedarea.
• YoucanalsouseoneofthebuttonsundertheDataEditingmenushowntotherightsuchas“Find Floor” (helpfulforquicklyselectingthetableyouscannedon)or“Find Noisy Cluster”(willfindabnormaloutliersautomatically)
• Whenyouarereadyremovingunwantedareas,youcanmoveontostep3bypressingthearrowbutton.• Remember,youcanalwaysdeleteunwanteddatalateronintheeditingprocessthroughselectionanddeletion.
• MeshBuildupWizardisbrokeninto5separateoperations,thefirstbeing“Data Preparation”.Forthesesettings,choose“small/medium size object scanner”ifyouareworkingwithscansfromanyoftheAOC’s3Dscanners.
• Under“Data Condition”,youcanchoosetochecktheboxnextto“IsPre-Aligned”ifyourscansarealignedandonlyneedtobefused.IftheyarecomingfromtheArtecEvascanner,theywillmostlikelyrequirealignment.Evenifyourscansappearaligned,itisagoodideatorunalignmentforbetteracuracy.
• Whenready,youmaymoveontothenextstageoftheMeshBuildupWizardbypressingthearrowbutton.
• Ifyoudonotseethesettingspicturedtotheleft,makesuretoclickthewhitetriangletodopdownthemenu.Pressthepushpiniconabovethistriangletokeepthemenuvisible.
Advanced Output CenterSullivan Center, Rm. 1232
312 629 6688 / [email protected] document is available electronically at http://sites.saic.edu/aoc
Page: 4 of 14 LastModified:May 15, 2018 10:44 AM
Mesh Buildup WIzard:
• Thenextstepinthemeshbuildupwizardis“Data Pre-Aligning”andisbrokendowninto3mainprocesses:selectingareferenceandamovingmesh,assigningalignmentpoints,andapplyingthatalignment.
• Under“Method”itisidealtochoose“local based on picked point”insteadofrelyingallthetimeonauto-alignment.TheautoprocessesinGeomagicasawholeareimpressive,butitisalwaysgoodtoberesponsibleforyourowneditingasitcancomeinhandyinotherprogramsandwhenauto-processesfail-whichtheyoftendo.
• Under“Select” Clickthe“Reference”boxandthenchooseareferencescanfromyourrowatthebottom.Whenchoosingareferencescan,itisbesttochooseonethathasthemostinformationratherthanascanwithlessgeometryinit.
• Next,clickthe“Moving” boxandselectasinglescanyouwillalignwiththereferencescantocreateabasisforglobalalignment.Again,chooseascanwithlotsofinformationinitandwithinformationthatoverlapsthe“Reference”scan.
• Oncethesetwoscansarechosen,youwillseethempopupintheirownwindowsontheright-handside.
• Next,youmustasigncorrespondingalignmentpointstothesetwoscansbyfirstputtingapointonarecognizablefeatureonthereferencescan.Next,placeapointonthemovingscanonthesamefeature.Place4-5pointsifpossible.
• Onceyouhaveplacedallyourpoints,hitthe“Apply”checkmarkbuttonatthetopofthemenu.
• Theoperationwillmergethescanscreatingabasisforglobalalignment.Gotothenextstepusingthearrow.
Advanced Output CenterSullivan Center, Rm. 1232
312 629 6688 / [email protected] document is available electronically at http://sites.saic.edu/aoc
Page:5of14 LastModified:May 15, 2018 10:44 AM
Mesh Buildup WIzard:
• Step4oftheMeshBuildupWizarddealswiththeactualalignmentofallthescans.Muchlikethelaststep,youmustfirstclickthe“Reference” boxandchooseyourreferencescan-choosethereferencescanfromthelaststep.
• Next,clickthe“Moving”boxandselectalloftherestofthescansbyholdingdowntheshiftkey.
• Toacceptthisselectionandrunthealignmentoperation,pressthe “Apply”checkmarkbutton.Whenthishascompleted,pressthenextarrowtomoveontothefinalstepoftheMeshBuildupWizard.
• The5thandfinalstepoftheMeshBuildupWizardwilltakeallofyouralignedscansandcombinethemintoasinglefusedmesh.Thereareafewoptionstothinkaboutbeforerunningthiscommand.Considerifyouwillneedaloosermeshoramoreaccuratetight/densemesh.
• Also, “Remesh and Fill All Holes To Create WatertightMesh”isagreatoptionifyouroutputwilleventuallybe3Dprinting.Thiswillcreateameshwithlessholesandmissinggeometryandwillmaketheeditingand3Dprintingpreparationstepsalotfaster.Thisoptionmaynotbeappropriateifthescansaremissinglargechunksofdata.
• Withyouroptionschosen,hittheappycheckmarknextto the “Data Merging”titletoruntheprocess.Thiscantakeaverylongtimetocompletesobepatient.
• Oncethiscompletes,youmayfinishtheMeshBuildupWizardbyhittingtheapplycheckmarknexttothemain“Mesh Buildup Wizard” header.Thiswillapplyallyourprocesses.Finally,togetthemodelreadyforthenexteditingsteps,makesurethepressthelargebluecheckmarkatthebottomrightofthesoftwaretolockinallthechanges.
• Now,ifyoulookonthelefthandsideofthescreenunderthe“Tree” menu,youshouldseeanewmeshwithabluecirclenexttoit.ItwillprobablybenamedsomethingsimilartoyourSTLnames.Clickonthismeshandthenclickonthelarge“Mesh”buttonatthetoptohopintoMesh Mode,whichwewilldotherestofoureditingin.
• *Note:SavingyourprogressinGeomagiccanbealittlebitconfusing.Tosaveyourworkasyougo,makesureyouacceptthechangesinthemenufortheoperationyouareworkinginandapplythechangesinthelowerrightcornerwiththelargebluecheckmark.Onceyouhaveapprovedtheseoperations,goto “File“and“Save”.
Advanced Output CenterSullivan Center, Rm. 1232
312 629 6688 / [email protected] document is available electronically at http://sites.saic.edu/aoc
Page:6of14 LastModified:May 15, 2018 10:44 AM
• Theiconsstarredaboveindicateeithertheoperationsthatwillbeoutlinedinthefollowingstepsorthosethatareveryeffectiveinclean-upbutareveryself-explainatory.
Mesh Mode: Find Defects
• Find Defectisanoperationthat,onceappliedwiththecheckmarkbutton,willshowyoumessyareasofgeometrythatyoumaywanttofocusonasyoubeginediting.Theseareasincludeintersectingandjaggedpoly-faces.Theprocesswillhighlighttheseareasinyellow.
Mesh Mode: Healing Wizard
• Healing wizardissimilartoFind Defectsinthatitwillhighlightpotentiallyproblematicareasofyourmeshinacolorcodedmanner.
• Healing wizardgoesastepfurtherandwhenapplied,willactuallyattempttofixtheseareaswhichwillimproveyouroverallsurfacetextureandwillpushthemeshtocloserto3Dprintablevalidity.
• Thisoperationcantakeaverylongtimetoprocessdependingonhowdenseyourmeshisandhowproblematicitis.
Important Mesh Mode Operations:
Advanced Output CenterSullivan Center, Rm. 1232
312 629 6688 / [email protected] document is available electronically at http://sites.saic.edu/aoc
Page: 7 of 14 LastModified:May 15, 2018 10:44 AM
Mesh Mode: Filling Holes
• Filling HolesinGeomagic,isalengthyandcomplicatedprocess.Sometimes,the“Fill Holes”operationisnotenoughandyoumustuseotheroperationstofirstedittheholesbeforefillingthem.
• Agoodfirststeptofillingholesistoselectyourentiremeshbyusingamarqueeselectiontoolanddraggingitacrosstheentiremodel.Next,doaglobalholefillattemptbysimplycheckingthecheckmarkbuttonnexttothe“Fill Holes”title.Thisoperationwilllookatalltheholesanditwillfillasmanyaspossible.
• Youwilllikelygetanerrormessagestatingthesoftware“Failed to fill some holes”andwilllisttheholesunabletobefilled.Thisistobeexpected.Hit“OK”.
• Findtheholesthesoftwarecouldnotfillgloballybypressingtheforwardarrow.Thiswillzoomtoindividualholesatatime.
• Selectasingularholeandthinkabouthowitsitsonthemodel.Ifitiscurved,changethe“Method” to “Curvature”.Alsotakealookatthe “Editing Tools”andchoosethebestfillingmethodwhetheritbefillingagulforaddingacurvedbridge.Thiscantakesomeexpirimentation.
• Intheexampletotheleft,acurvedmethodwasusedalongwithabridgeeditingtool.
• Sometimes,evenattackingeachholeindividuallywillnotfillit.Oddlyshapedholesorholesthatcurveintofigureeightshapeswillneedtobephysicallyeditedbeforeattemptingtofillthem.ForthatwemustjumptoEdit Boundaries.
Advanced Output CenterSullivan Center, Rm. 1232
312 629 6688 / [email protected] document is available electronically at http://sites.saic.edu/aoc
Page:8of14 LastModified:May 15, 2018 10:44 AM
Mesh Mode: Edit Boundaries
• Edit Boundaries allowsyoutomorphanddistortorshrinkandsmoothholesandcracksinyourmesh.Eachmethodhasitsownsetofoptionstoexpirimentwith.ThemethodsShrink and Fillseemtoworkbestforpreparingoddlyshapedholestobefilledinthe Fill Holesoperation.
• Fortheholeshownonthebottomofpage7,theShrinkmethodwasusedtoeliminatetwistedboundaries.Thoughtheholehasincreasedinsize,itwillbeeasiertofillnowasGeomagiccanhandlelargeholes,butgetsconfusedwithsmallerholesthatintersectthemselves.
AfterShrinkinginEdit Boundaries AfterFill Holesoperation
• Remember,youcanalsouseholefillinginconjunctionwithdeletionofdata.Ifyouarenotsatisfiedwithpartofameshandwanttodeleteit,goaheadandthenfilltheremainingholesoyoucansmoothit.Splittingthemeshcanalsohelpwiththis.
Mesh Mode: Splitting the mesh
• Splittingyourmeshisagoodwaytogetridofunwanteddata.Itisalsoaneffectivewayofcappingoffpartsofyourmesh.
• Therearethreewaysofdefiningyoursplittingarea-entity(definedpartofamodel),polyline(adrawncutline),oraplane (acuttingplanesimilartoacut-offplaneinmanyothermodelingsoftwares).
• Drawyourpolylineandmakesurenottochangetheviewbytumblingorpanningyourmodel.Hitthearrowbuttontosplitthemesh.
• Theoperation,Sew Boundaries,canalsobehelpfulforstubbornoblongholesorcracks.
Advanced Output CenterSullivan Center, Rm. 1232
312 629 6688 / [email protected] document is available electronically at http://sites.saic.edu/aoc
Page:9of14 LastModified:May 15, 2018 10:44 AM
Mesh Mode: Various Surface Treatments
Mesh Mode: Splitting the mesh
• Onceyourmeshhasbeensplit,theoperationwillaskyoutodefinetheareayouwanttoremainastheotherareawillbedeleted.Onceyouhavechosentheareaofthemeshyouwanttokeep,hitthecheckmarkbutton.
• Aholewillbeleftwhereyousplityourmesh,butaholefillingoperationwithaflatmethodwillmostlikelycapitwithoutanyissues.
Aftersplittingthemesh Afterfillingthehole
• Youmayfindyourselfunsatisfiedwiththeoverallsurfacetextureofyourmodel.GeomagicMeshModehasmanydifferentoperationstosmooth,sharpen,andformyourmeshbothgloballyandthroughfinedetail.AgoodfirstmovetobegintosmoothyourmeshistheSmooth operation.
Mesh Mode: Smooth
• The Smooth operationappliesaglobalsmoothingeffectaccordingtoyourselection.Selecttheentiremeshandrunthecommandwith“Feature Preservation” ontocreateasmoothbasetothengointowithfinedetailbrush-basedoperations.
BeforeGlobal Smooth AfterGlobalSmooth
• AftertheSmoothoperation,theEnhanceShape operationcanalsobeusefulinapplyingasimilarglobaltexturechange.InEnhanceShape,youcanbegingtoexpirimentwithsharpnessaswell.
Advanced Output CenterSullivan Center, Rm. 1232
312 629 6688 / [email protected] document is available electronically at http://sites.saic.edu/aoc
Page:10of14 LastModified:May 15, 2018 10:44 AM
Mesh Mode: Smart Brush
• Smart Brushisatoolthatallowsyoutointeractivelyfine-tuneyourmesh’ssurface.• Smart Brushhas5mainfunctions:
• Smooth:evensoutmeshrougness.• Decimate: simplifiesthemeshmakeupandreducesdensenessofmesh.• Clean:Reducessharpanglesofintersectingpolyfacesandstabilizesthemesh.• Enhance: Sharpensandsmoothsthemeshandboostsdetail.• Deform: Youcanbuilduppartsofyourmeshwiththisbrushasitpushesandpullsgeometry.
• Allofthesedifferentfunctionshaveadifferentsetofoptionsyoucanexpirimentwith.Forthemostpart,theyareselfexplainatory.However,whenitcomestotheDeformbrush,youmaywanttotryeditingyourWeight Curve. Press“Set Weight Curve” tobegin.
• Theweightcurvedeterminesdifferentcharacteristicsaboutyourbrushstrokesuchasboundaryandweight.Takealookattheexamplesbelowtoseewhatkindofeffectsyoucangetoutofthe Deformbrush.
Default Curve:
Advanced Output CenterSullivan Center, Rm. 1232
312 629 6688 / [email protected] document is available electronically at http://sites.saic.edu/aoc
Page: 11 of 14 LastModified:May 15, 2018 10:44 AM
Mesh Mode: Smart Brush
• AgoodorderofoperationsfortheSmart Brush wouldmostlikelybetosmooth,thendeform.Then,smoothyourdeformedsectiontobetterintegrateitintotherestofthemesh.Youmayalsowanttotrydecimatingaftersmoothingandbeforedeformingasthiswillallowthemeshtomoveabiteasier.Afteryouaredonesmoothingyourdeformedarea,youmaywanttousecleanorenhance.
BeforeanySmart Brushedtiting AfterdeformingandsmoothingwithSmart Brush
• *Note: Gettinganewlybuilt-updeformedareatocompletelysmoothoutandblendwiththemeshisverydifficultandtime-consuminginGeomagic.Ifaparticularareamustbebuiltup,youmaywanttogetasinglescanofthemissingareaandfusethemtogether.Ifthisisnotpossible,followtheworkflowaboveandlateronyoucanbringtheexportedmeshinto3DsculptingprogramssuchasMesh MixerandSculptris toachieveamorewell-blendedmesh.
• Both SculptrisandMesh Mixerarefreeprogramswithaveryuser-friendlyinterface.MeshMixerhasaveryeffective “Shrink”toolthatcanshrinkdownunwantedblobbygeometry.
SmoothinginGeomagic Smoothingina3D sculpting program
• Noticehowthesesculptingprogramscanalsobeusedtoeasilyadd-insmalldetailssuchastheshallowholeinthetail.
Advanced Output CenterSullivan Center, Rm. 1232
312 629 6688 / [email protected] document is available electronically at http://sites.saic.edu/aoc
Page:12of14 LastModified:May 15, 2018 10:44 AM
Mesh Mode: Preparation for Output
• Nowthatyouaresatisfiedwiththelookofyourmodel,youwillwanttopreparethemeshforoutputwhetheritbeanimation,still-image,oraphysicaloutputsuchas3Dprinting.
• Physicaloutputrequiresamuchmorespecifictypeofmeshasoppoisedtostill-imagerenderingorevenanimation.Animationmayrequire Decimationifyouplanonrigging,butfor3Dprintingyoumodelmustbeaswater-tightaspossible.
Mesh Mode: Decimation
• Decimationisanoperationthatreducesyourpolygoncountandreducesthedensenessofyourmeshwhileretainingfeaturedefinitionandquality.
• Havingamodelwithasimplifiedmeshisimportantwhenmovingyourmodeltoother3Dprograms-amoresparsemeshwillresultinlesslagwithinsoftware.
• Decimationisalsoimportantforanimationifyouplanonriggingyourmodelformovement.
• WithintheDecimationmenu,wewanttodecideonourtargetnumberofpoly-faces.Youcanalsodecideonareductionpercentagetoreducethedensitybythatamount.
• Youcanviewyourmodel’scurrentnumberofpoly-facesunderthe“Properties”menuinthelowerrightcornerofthesoftware.
• Tobetterviewyourmesh,usetheviewtoolsatthetoptoviewyourmodelinwireframe (1).Youcanswitchbacktoshadedview (2)atanytime.
1 2
Advanced Output CenterSullivan Center, Rm. 1232
312 629 6688 / [email protected] document is available electronically at http://sites.saic.edu/aoc
Page:13of14 LastModified:May 15, 2018 10:44 AM
Mesh Mode: Rewrap Vs. Global Remesh
• WithinMesh Mode,therearetwoveryeffectivemodesofglobalpreparationforoutput.ThoughIammentioningtheseastheendofthisguide,notethatyoucanperformtheseoperationsatanypointduringyourediting.
• Rewrap inparticularcanbeusedinsteadtofillholesgloballyiftheholefillingiseithertakingtoolongornotgivingyoutheresultsyouwant.
Global Remesh
Rewrap• Retriangulatesentiremeshandcreatesa
brandnewmeshmakeup.• Improvedmeshqualitythrough
globalmeshcleanup.• Acleaneruniformmeshwillcreateless
chanceoferrorandlaginother3Dprogramsandinvalidationfor3Dprinting.
• Maybeusefulforanimationasamoreuniformmeshiseasiertorig.
• Shrinkwrapstheentiremeshandcanfillinlargemissingareas.
• Recreatesthemeshbasedonunderlyingpoints.
• Fixesdefectsandroughareas.• Agreatoperationtoprepareyourmeshfor
3Dprinting.
Mesh Mode: Decimation
Different levels of Decimation:
500,000poly-faces 100,000poly-faces 30,000poly-faces
Advanced Output CenterSullivan Center, Rm. 1232
312 629 6688 / [email protected] document is available electronically at http://sites.saic.edu/aoc
Page: 14 of 14 LastModified:May 15, 2018 10:44 AM
Mesh Mode: Rewrap Vs. Global Remesh
• Both RewrapandGlobal Remeshcanbothfillmissingareas,butasyoucanseefromtheimagesbelow,Rewrapdoesamuchbetterjoboftakingthesurroundingareasintoaccountandthenbuildingupthemissingdata.
Largechunksmissingfrommodel Rewrapped Globalremeshed
• Global Remeshcansometimesobliteratesharpdetailonamodel,soexpirimentwithdifferentedgelengthstocompromisedetailforcleanlinessofyourmesh.
Exporting your model
• Onceyouaresatisfiedwithyourmodel,youmustExportitoutofGeomagic.
• HopoutofMeshModebyclickingthelargebluemeshicon.• Next,goto“File”andthen“Export”.Clickthecheckmarkin
theExportmenutobringuptheExportwindow.• STL filesareneededfor3DprintingattheAOC.OBJfiles
workwellwithMaya andotheranimationapplications.