Editor’s Pick: Point Cloud Processor Updated

By Anthony J. Lockwood

Dear Desktop Engineering Reader:

Importing, cleaning up, and simplifying large masses of point cloud data can tax anyone’s patience. With the introduction of VRMesh 5.0 point cloud and mesh processing software from VirtualGrid you can give yourself a tax break on that job.

VRMesh 5.0 has the tools and power to clean and simplify large-sized point clouds, generate high-quality triangulated meshes, and recreate NURBS surfaces for further manipulation in your CAE and CAD applications. By large, I mean more than a billion points. It has advanced point-cloud processing techniques such as denoise and decimation that reduce the size of point clouds efficiently but without sacrificing accuracy. Other new features in VRMesh 5.0 include the ability to export NURBS surfaces in IGES format and a new capability for restoring sharp edges along wireframe curves.

Actually, VRMesh 5.0 is a family of products for a range of needs. The VRMesh Studio version is the comprehensive package offering a point-cloud processing and mesh modeling environment for users requiring an all-in-one engineering tool and design communication solution. VRMesh Reverse,  as its name implies, is for reverse engineering. It provides the tools for wrapping point cloud data into an accurate meshed model. VRMesh Forward is an extension module that provides a guided workflow system that takes you step-by-step through wireframe curve detection to NURBS surface creation. Finally, VRMesh Design provides the capabilities for STL repair and conceptual design.

I also should note that on Monday VirtualGrid released Cloud Decimator for AutoCAD 2011. This plug-in application provides the ability to perform point cloud processing within the AutoCAD environment. You can read about it and all the new features in VRMesh 5.0 in today’s Pick of the Week write-up.

Still, what I recommend that you do is hit the link and go and watch some of the VRMesh tutorials. There are something like 24 of these things—and there are a few more scattered around the site that I lacked the the time to cross-check, so they may be unique. I watched a bunch of these videos, and each told its story without a sound track. They didn’t need it. This software is both powerful and simple to use, and the videos show you just that.

One other thing about VRMesh you should know, and that is it is not priced at the top-shelf level even though it has top-shelf features. Prices range from about $500 to almost $1700, depending upon your needs and licensing requirements. So, if you have anything to do with processing and meshing point clouds and you need to do it cost-effectively and efficiently,  VRMesh 5.0 is a solution that you should look into.

Thanks, Pal.—Lockwood

Anthony J. Lockwood
Editor at Large, Desktop Engineering

Read today’s Pick of the Week write-up.