Got questions? We’re here to help. These questions are designed to give you a better understanding of Xtract3D 2.
While other reverse engineering software have automation tools that might sound great on paper, they simply aren’t effective for creating usable CAD models for most real life applications. We approach the reverse engineering challenge differently. Xtract3D 2 focuses on providing a basic yet powerful set of tools to manually extract features, sketch, and create CAD data using the 3D scan data as a template for design. This is a fool-proof way of doing reverse engineering from scan data.
No, a common misconception is optical 3D scanners directly outputs a CAD model. Point cloud or polygon mesh data is the output of all optical scanners. Xtract3D 2 loads that data, then you reference it to create sketches, features, and solid bodies in SOLIDWORKS. The result is a parametric CAD model you can edit, dimension, and manufacture.
SOLIDWORKS is one of the world’s most popular CAD modeling package used by 7.5 million users. We didn’t want to reinvent the wheel when SOLIDWORKS great at building solid CAD models from scratch, so we decided to create a simple reverse engineering toolbar to complement it. As a bonus, people using SOLIDWORKS don’t need to learn another piece of software. When all the amazing tools you need are in one place for CAD modeling, it makes your work more productive.
There are limited tools in ScanTo3D to do a proper reverse engineering job quickly and to do it in the most direct way. We worked closely with reverse engineering professionals to develop Xtract3D 2. We listened to the challenges they have with existing products in the market to develop Xtract3D 2 as an alternative solution. ScanTo3D is also limited to working with low resolution scan data, whereas Xtract3D 2 can handle mesh data with millions of polygons and point clouds with hundreds of millions of points.
Below-spec systems can operate with decimation and conservative render settings. Performance improves with more VRAM/RAM. For very large point clouds (> 700 million points), 64 GB RAM and at least 8GB of VRAM is recommended for a smooth experience.
Supported imports:
Units follow the SOLIDWORKS document by default. Optional centering, class filtering (LAS/LAZ), and advanced import controls are available.
Data is stored externally in a .pbn next to the part/assembly, removing the ~2 GB in-document barrier. Practical limits are set by your hardware. Use Adaptive Rendering, Section Views, Clip Sphere, and decimation for massive datasets.
Check out the built-in documentation (available through the '?' icon in each tool) for detailed explanations of each tool. We also have a series of video tutorials that cover the most common workflows. If you still have questions, feel free to reach out to our support team.
You will receive an email that gives you the link to download the installer. Download the installer and run it to install Xtract3D 2 on your computer. The link is also available in your account on the Polyga website under the 'Downloads' section. When you launch SOLIDWORKS, you will be prompted to login with your Polyga account to activate the software. Once activated, you can start using Xtract3D 2.
Xtract3D 2 appears as a toolbar and panels inside SOLIDWORKS. Imported scan data is kept in an external .pbn beside your part/assembly, enabling very large datasets and fast loading.
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