Those of you who have implemented lidar or other scanner types into your business to scan installation locations. We are starting to use our scanner more and more now and I am wondering what softwares you guys are using to view and manipulate your point cloud data. We are mostly using it for point to point measurements but we are getting into mesh creation and building solid models of installations more and more now for our customers. We started with Recap Pro but they apparently no longer support mesh creation. What are you folks using for this purpose and what are your recommendations for software choices? Thank you

What format are your point clouds coming in as? What level of editing to you need after the import? Are you importing point clouds of architectural restoration work that you then need to snap to geometry? Is it all organic?

What type of scanner are you using?

My experience has been somewhat opposite honestly. I purchased a Faro scanner with dreams of doing what you are trying to do, but the workflow to get to a 3D model is overly cumbersome, if not impossible. I have never found a good workflow to get me there. It almost seems faster to just use the point to point measurements and build a clean model from scratch, but that defeats the entire point for me.

I believe the technology will get there at some point without having to move through 3 or 4 different software applications to get usable data. It may already be out there, but I haven't found it.

Thanks guys.. yeah we do historic restorations as well as custom new installations and remodels, also do work on yachts that require us to scan the interiors. We are then taking the information and using it to create trim and cabinetry options for our customers. Most want us to be able to show elaborate 3D models/renderings. We are currently using a Leica scanner and we are relatively pleased with its performance especially with multiple scans on a single area. Point clouds look great and there is ample information that we have come to find is accurate enough for what our need are. The creation of meshes from the clouds and then ultimately a surfaced model has become more and more necessary for these jobs. We have been poking around with different trial softwares but I wanted to see if there are any folks in here that are already using this technology and whether or not they are using something they would recommend etc.

Paraform :)

Not sure where it is now. You can start with the link and do your own searching from there to see if you can aquire a copy.

https://www.americaninno.com/boston/the-man-behind-the-mask/