Data Processing

Once you have captured an object from all desired angles and created a sufficient number of scans, you can then build a 3D model. This chapter offers a detailed description of the process.

See also

3D Scanning at a Glance.

• Reconstructing HD scans from saved raw HD data

• Revising Scans and Editing Scans

• Alignment

• Global Registration

• Creating Models (Fusion)

• Editing Models

• Texturing

Maximum Error and Registration Quality

Error is the parameter that reflects frame registration quality. For scans, it shows the maximum value among all the frames. The larger the value, the less accurate the alignment. Artec Studio displays noteworthy values only for scans that have passed Fine registration, Align and Global registration.

Table 9 Maximum error values for the scanner types.

	Good results	Acceptable	Unacceptable
Spider/Spider II	0.0–0.1	0.2–0.3	0.4–…
Eva	0–0.3	0.4–0.9	1.0–…
Micro/Micro II	0.0	0.1	0.2–…
Leo	0.0–0.5	0.6–1.3	1.4–…
Ray/Ray II	0.1–0.9	1.0–2.9	3.0–…

Table 10 Other possible errors.

Error	Recommendations
Warning!	Check the frame list
Failed	Indicates unregistered frames in Show all frames mode

Reconstructing HD scans from saved raw HD data

If your scanner supports the HD mode (such as Artec Eva) and you used it to capture raw HD data without reconstructing HD scans (see Enabling HD Mode for details), then before you start building a 3D model, you may want to get HD scans from this data.

To launch the reconstruction of HD scans from your saved raw HD data, follow these steps:

1. In the Workspace panel, select one or more raw data scans (Figure 131, right).

   Note

   Raw data scans are not rendered in the 3D View window.

2. Open Tools → HD Scan Reconstruction (Figure 131, left).

3. Select the desired values for the HD frames frequency and Point density parameters. For their description and setup recommendations, see Launching reconstruction after scanning.

4. Click Run.

Figure 131 Launching HD scans reconstruction from saved raw HD data.

The HD Scan Reconstruction data section in the Tools panel on the left, a raw data scan selected in the Workspace panel on the right.

Important

The HD reconstruction is a time-consuming and resource-intensive operation. On slow computers, it can take up to several hours. If Artec Studio evaluates your computer’s resources as insufficient for the selected values of Point density and HD Frames frequency, then the corresponding warning will be displayed. For information on resources requirements, see the Using HD mode section in System Requirements.

The HD reconstruction will start, and the corresponding progress bar will be displayed on the Status bar.

When the processing is complete, HD scans will appear in the Workspace panel. Their names will be marked with the letters “HD”, for example: Eva HD Scan 1.

Revising Scans

As you begin building a 3D model, you may want to start by preprocessing your scans: separate misaligned areas (if any) into separate scans and cut out unwanted objects from the scene.

You may encounter the following problems:

Figure 132 Possible scan errors.

Bad geometry on the left, scan misalignment in the middle and hands captured in frames on the right.

• Misaligned frames (see Figure 132, left)—may occur because of small size, an insufficient number of geometrical features on the object or an insufficient number of polygons in a frame.

• Misaligned parts (see Figure 132, middle)—occurs when the real-time alignment algorithm incorrectly determines the position of the new frame relative to previous ones.

• Unwanted objects in the frame (see Figure 132, right).

A visual inspection of the frames can be very helpful in determining problematic areas. To perform a visual inspection, select the scan and view all the frames that it contains by holding ↑ or ↓ on the keyboard. This technique can easily detect misaligned frames.

When viewing scans, application generally shows only key frames and textured frames. To display all the frames, select the Show all frames option in the Scene settings.

See also

Misalignment Detection.

Separating Scans

During the fine-alignment process, frames in certain scans may be misaligned. Sometimes it’s possible to divide the problematic scan into several scans, where each part is registered fairly well. In this case, divide the scan. To move some of the frames into a new scan, use the following procedure:

1. Select in the Surface List panel the frames you want to move (see Selecting Frames).

2. Click RMB and select Move to new scan (Figure 87, right).

You can also fix alignment errors in another way: reset the current frame-transformation values and repeat the registration, making any appropriate changes to the settings. Select the desired scan in the Workspace panel, click on it using RMB and select Unregister from the dropdown menu. Doing so will reset the computed positions of individual frames in the scan. A dialog will then appear, prompting you to confirm the operation. To compute new positions, run the Rough serial registration and then Fine registration algorithms (see Fine Registration).

Alignment and Registration at a Glance

Registration and alignment tools perform similar tasks, however, they differ. Use the table below to get an insight into the details.

Table 11 Understanding registration and alignment modes.

Type	Purpose	Details
Fine registration	Adjusting frames’ positions	Treat scans in batch separately. Starts once you leave Scan panel.
Align	Assembling scans	See also Alignment
Global registration	Optimizing frames within scans	Launch it for a pre-aligned batch of scans or for a single scan
Rough serial registration	Preliminary registration performed during scanning	No need to start it manually
Photo registration	Applying texture to models with registered photographs	See also Texturing

Editing Scans

To edit scans, open Editor from the side panel and select the Eraser tool. You can also use Positioning tool or Transformation tool to orient the scanned data.

Figure 133 Editor panel.

Eliminating 3D Noise (Outlier Removal)

During the scanning process, so-called outliers may appear in the scene. Outliers are small surfaces unconnected to the main surfaces. They require removal because they may spoil the model or produce unwanted fragments. Artec Studio provides two ways to remove outliers: erase them before fusion (preventive approach) or after fusion (“furthering” approach”). We advise using the former approach because it decreases the possibility of improper fusion by preventing noisy features from attaching to the main surface.

This outlier-removal approach is based on a statistical algorithm that calculates for every surface point the mean distances between that point and a certain number of neighboring points, as well as the standard deviation of these distances. All points whose mean distances are greater than an interval defined by the global-distances mean and standard deviation are then classified as outliers and removed from the scene.

For better results, we recommend running global registration before starting the algorithm. If you begin Outlier removal before doing so, a dialog will appear prompting you to perform global registration.

Figure 134 Outlier removal: before and after.

In most cases, none of the parameters accessible through the button requires adjustment. But if necessary, you can change the values of these parameters:

• 3D-noise level is a standard-deviation multiplier. We recommend choosing the value for this parameter according to the following guidelines:

  • 2 for noisier surfaces

  • 3 for less noisy surfaces

• 3D resolution, mm should be set equal to the resolution of the Fusion process that you expect to run later.

Click Run to initiate Outlier removal.

Erasing Portions of Scans (Eraser)

Nearly always, the scanning process will capture unwanted elements, such as walls, the operator’s hands, surfaces on which the object is located and other extraneous objects. This unwanted data can hinder postprocessing. To avoid this problem, we recommend eliminating these objects before processing. Eraser offers several options to quickly and easily remove unwanted elements from the scene (see Selection Types).

1. Open the Editor panel using the side toolbar.

2. Open the Eraser tool by clicking or by hitting E.

3. Select one or more scans in the Workspace panel.

4. In the Editor panel, choose the required selection type.

5. Consult the instructions for a specific mode and select regions on the scans that you want to erase. To clear all selections, click Deselect.

6. Click Erase to eliminate the area highlighted in red or to apply cutting plane (Cutoff-plane or Base selections).

To undo changes, click in the Workspace panel or menu Edit, or hit Ctrl+Z. Each click of the Erase button generates a command history entry. To undo several operations, use the dropdown menu of button and select the lowest entry.

Note

From Artec Studio version 18 onwards, you can also set an Eraser lock to one or more objects in the workspace. The Eraser tool will not affect any object in the Locked object status.

Selection Types

Type	Illustration	Usage
2D		Hold down Ctrl and use Scroll wheel to adjust the tool size. Paint with Ctrl+LMB to create a selection.
3D		See above.
Rectangular		Use Ctrl+LMB to select a rectangular region.
Lasso		Use Ctrl+LMB to freely outline an irregular region. You can release LMB (not Ctrl) and then continue clicking on desired points to select a desired shape.
Cutoff-plane		Create selection as in 2D mode. Once you have released the mouse button, a plane will appear. If necessary, adjust the plane level by using Scroll wheel while holding down Ctrl+Shift or orient the plane freely in 3D space. To this end, hit Alt to display the designated control. Then still holding the key, drag the required control ring. Note that it doesn’t work with raw point clouds from Artec Point.
Base		Select a flat area as in 2D mode. The tool will automatically fit the base plane and select everything below it. Note that it doesn’t work with raw point clouds from Artec Point.
Object		Select any separate part of the mesh. This option enables you to easily remove any unwanted object, as whole, from the model.

If the Select through checkbox is selected, all surfaces throughout the scan are affected. If not, the brush only works on the visible surface.

Figure 135 Select through in 2D selection: disabled in the middle, enabled on the right.

Use the following general procedure to erase unwanted elements. With the Eraser tool, you can also edit target clouds by selecting the desired target using one of the available selection types (2D, 3D, Rectangular, or Lasso). Follow the general procedure to complete the editing of target clouds.

See also

Hot keys in Editor.

More Actions With Selections

Apart from erasure, you can perform the following action with the selected regions:

• Clear selection to create a new one. Click Deselect or reselect the region manually while holding down Ctrl+Alt.

• Invert selection (clear the highlighted region and select the rest). It might be useful when working with large scans. Click Inverse or hit I.

• Temporarily hide selection if it obstructs the region you want to erase. Click Hide to this end. To display hidden polygons, click Show. Then select the region you want to erase.

Erasing Supporting Surface

Artec Studio offers two selection modes that differ from conventional brushes in the way how you select the area for erasure. First, you indicate the flat surface (table, floor or base) on which the object is resting. Then, application either determines the base plane and select the area underneath it (Base selection, Figure 136), or creates a cutting plane (Cutoff-plane selection) that divides the scan into two parts: the first will remain and the second will be erased (see Figure 137). You can orient this plane in any way you need.

Tip

Consider using the Enable automatic base removal option when scanning since it deletes the flat surface automatically after you close the Scan panel.

Figure 136 Base selection in action: indicating a flat region → defined base → removed base.

Figure 137 Various controls for orienting cutoff plane: around axes (X, Y and Z) and view direction.

Fine Registration

Fine registration is an algorithm designed to precisely align captured frames.

In a number of cases you can start the Fine registration algorithm manually open Tools → Registration and select the Fine type of registration. The algorithm affects all scans marked with the icon in the Workspace panel (see Selecting Scans and Models for more information on scan selection), but it processes them separately.

Features	Geometry and texture or Geometry	The type of algorithm that will perform scan registration. The former is preferable as it takes both geometry and texture into account. If your scan entirely lacks texture, we recommend using Geometry option.
Subsampling	0.01–1	The option makes the input geometry data less dense to speed up the processing. Use lower values for objects with poor geometry. Designed for scans with HD reconstruction, this option can speed up processing in Geometry and texture mode.

Scan Decimation

Sometimes it is necessary to leave only a portion of frames in scans, which are hard to process, and doing it manually can be quite tedious. Therefore, Scan decimation filters surfaces in scans, preserving only the specified percentage of raw data within reasonable limits of frames before starting processing. The exact decimation % can be selected and applied to one or multiple scans within the project.

Figure 138 Scan decimation tool.

Alignment

Although Artec Studio features continuous scanning, there may be some cases where the application lack sufficient information about the relative positions of multiple scans. To assemble all scans into a single whole, you must convert the data to a single coordinate system—that is, you must perform alignment using the Align tool.

Hint

First refer to Auto-Alignment.

Selecting Objects for Alignment

In the Workspace panel, use the flag to mark all scans or groups that you intend to work with. Once you click Align in the side panel, the marked scans and groups will appear in the left panel already selected in the same order as they appear in the Workspace panel.

Note

Workspace group of scans is treated as a single entity. To release objects constituting the group, use the Ungroup item from the dropdown menu.

During the Align operation, Artec Studio divides the selected scans or groups into two collections: registered (aligned) and unregistered (unaligned). The first collection initially contains only one scan (the first one in the list) or group, which are highlighted in blue. Collection name appears in bold and uses the same color icon ( or ). Auto-Alignment, however, may produce several collections of aligned scans.

The user’s task is to align all scans to those that are already registered and to “assemble a model”. In general, the procedure includes the following steps:

1. Select a required Type from the dropdown menu in the Align panel.

2. Select one scan or group () from the unregistered collection in the Align panel. The name of unregistered scan appears in a regular typeface. When selected, the unregistered scan is marked by the gray icon , whereas the group is marked by icon . You can select several scans using either of the following methods:

   • Press and hold down the Ctrl key, and then click each scan or group that you want to select

   • Click the first item, press and hold down the Shift key, and then click the last item.

3. If necessary, specify point pairs (for two scans) or sets of points (for more than two scans)

4. Click the desired alignment-command button (Auto-Alignment is the most recommended one). The command affects all scans selected in the Align panel plus the first one ().

Note

If other objects, except for scans, belong to a group, you can also position them simultaneously with the scans. Select the Apply to all objects in parent groups checkbox to this end.

Since each alignment type varies in its effects, see the details in the corresponding subsections for more information. Note that you can use either one method or a series of methods: drag alignment, best fit alignment with and without points, auto-alignment, datum alignment etc.

Changing Object Status

If you have already aligned several scans, you should move them to the registered collection. Select them in the Align panel using LMB. Next, click RMB on the name of any scan and select the Mark as registered option from the dropdown menu, or just double-click its name in the list. At this point, Artec Studio will treat registered scans as one, so you cannot move them independently.

If you accidentally mark a scan as aligned, remove it from the registered collection by selecting the Mark as unregistered item from the dropdown menu, or just double-click it.

Navigation in 3D View

Objects selected in the Align panel will appear in the 3D View window. Navigation in Align mode is similar to navigation in the 3D View window.

Rotate	Hold LMB and move mouse
Zoom in/out	Scroll the Mouse wheel, or hold RMB and move mouse
Move freely	Hold LMB and RMB simultaneously, or hold the middle button, and move mouse

Managing Collections and Scans

You can perform the following actions on the scans from the list in the Align panel (right-click on the item to open the context menu):

• Mark as registered. Only available for single unregistered scans or groups ( → )

• Mark as unregistered. Use this command to discard the alignment state of a particular scan (unavailable for scans)

• Select collection highlights the respective collection (, , and so on)

• Mark collection as registered converts all scans from the collection into the basic registered collection ( → )

Drag Alignment

Drag alignment is the fastest alignment method, but also the least accurate. This method allows you to align scans by manually dragging them in the 3D View window.

Owing to the low accuracy of this approach, however, you can optionally use it for preliminary alignment before running more-accurate alignment types.

Figure 139 Dragging a scan

Figure 140 “Drag” alignment result

1. Select the scan you want to align, keeping in mind the recommendation in Selecting Objects for Alignment. Artec Studio allows you to select multiple scans, but note that it will align them with the registered scans as a single unit.

2. Holding down the Shift key and one mouse button, move and rotate the scan you’re aligning (a green one ) close to the registered scan (a blue one ). Here is a list of allowed movements and corresponding buttons:

   • Shift+LMB to rotate

   • Shift+LMB+RMB to move

   • Shift+RMB or Shift+Scroll to move only unregistered scan along the view direction

3. To confirm the alignment, release the mouse button(s) and the Shift key, then click Apply. Note carefully that any scans you are registering won’t automatically move to the registered set (see Figure 140). You can do so manually as the Changing Object Status describes.

4. If you have several scans to align, repeat these steps for each one individually.

Auto-Alignment

Best Fit alignment is a universal alignment type suitable for aligning most scans. However, Auto-alignment is the easiest approach. The advantages of the latter type include the ability to align several scans at once and avoid the need to specify points; the only disadvantage is minimum requirements for the size of the overlapping areas in the scans you’re aligning.

To perform auto-alignment, follow these steps:

1. Mark the necessary scans/objects for alignment.

2. If several objects are already marked in the Workspace panel, then all of them are automatically selected upon opening the Align panel. You can then clear unnecessary selections using the Ctrl key.

3. Select the Best fit type in the Align panel.

4. In the Points option, switch ON the Auto toggle, and click on Align.

5. Ideally, Artec Studio aligns all the scans and marks them using the icon. It may, however, mark scans as registered even though the 3D surfaces failed to join properly.

Important

Artec Studio version 18 onwards, Auto-alignment can be used to align a Mesh to CAD model.

Auto-alignment may produce the following results:

• Aligned scans, marked with the icon (basic collection of registered scans)

• Unregistered scans, marked with the icon

• One collection () or several collections (, ) of registered scans. Scans forming this collection failed to align with the basic registered collection (), although they succeeded in aligning with each other.

Note

Auto-alignment may be unsuccessful if the scans have a small overlapping area.

We recommend resolving issues with unregistered scans or registered collections by aligning them manually as Best Fit Alignment with Points describes. Other methods may also help.

Best Fit Alignment without Points

You can perform Best Fit (rigid) alignment either with or without markers (point sets). If scans are close to each other in distance (e.g., after “drag” alignment) or have a large overlapping area or rich texture, you can skip the task of point specification when aligning them.

Perform the following steps:

1. Make sure the Best fit type is selected.

2. Select the scans you want to align, as the beginning of Alignment describes.

3. Set the Points value to Auto by toggling the corresponding switch.

4. If aligning point clouds from Artec Ray or Artec Ray II, enable the Advanced switch to adjust the advanced settings that determine how alignment points will be calculated:

   • Distance from scanner, mm is a radius around the scanner viewpoint from where the algorithm will take points. Alter it when you need to ignore the background 3D noise.

   • Feature voxel, mm is a volume measure to cull extra points from the algorithm input. The more the value, the more the points will be culled and the faster the algorithm. Increase it sparingly since it affects the algorithm accuracy.

   • Maximum height difference, mm determines the height difference value of scans, which helps decrease registration algorithm processing time. If the scans are taken at different heights, please input a value of 0.

Figure 141 Advanced settings for piint clouds alignment without points.

5. Click Align. The result should be as Figure 143 depicts. If you are dissatisfied with this result, click and follow the recommendations in Best Fit Alignment with Points.

6. Select another scan from the list of unregistered scans and repeat the above procedure.

7. Click Align once again

Texture Alignment

If the object was scanned with texture, the texture-alignment feature may ease the alignment process. It uses texture-image characteristics of scanned objects and greatly decreases the possibility of incorrect alignment. This feature also helps to align objects with few or no geometrical features, such as round or flat objects with no corners. If an object has rich, nonrepetitive geometry, however, we recommend disabling texture alignment to reduce the algorithm’s running time. Also keep in mind that texture alignment will be useless if the object texture is monochrome.

To enable texture alignment, select the Enable texture alignment checkbox at the bottom of the Align panel before you click on Align.

Note

Texture alignment is a resource-intensive algorithm that slows down the alignment process. We recommend using it only in cases where the object’s geometrical features are insufficient.

Specifying Point Sets (Markers) and Editing their Positions

Before considering how to align scans using points, it is helpful to learn about point-pair specifications. The alignment algorithm uses pairs of point, or point sets in Complex alignment type (Complex Alignment), to detect scan areas that should be brought close together.

To do point alignment, create several point pairs. To create one pair, mark one point on the aligned scan and then mark another one on the unaligned scan. Ensure that in each case the points for a given pair match a corresponding point on the surface of a real object.However, high matching accuracy is unnecessary, since Artec Studio only uses the pairs to gain a rough approximation before performing precise registration. In the Complex type, you can create a set of points (instead of just a pair), i.e. you can simultaneously specify more than two points in one or several unregistered scans and only one in the registered scan. All these points are connected by polylines and form a set.

When specifying points in the Best Fit and Nonrigid types, the application automatically creates pairs. Having specified one pair, you can immediately create the next one. In the Complex type you must confirm set creation by hitting Space or by clicking New set from the left panel, because the set may comprise multiple points (see Figure 142 and Figure 147).

You can toggle between the point pairs (sets) by hitting Space and Backspace, or by clicking RMB in the 3D View window and selecting the relevant options from the menu. You can also relocate points in the pair (set). Hover the mouse cursor over the point until the pair (set) is highlighted in white, then drag the point to the proper position using LMB, or select the pair (set) and specify a new position using LMB. To confirm your actions and deselect the pair (set), hit Space. You can also remove either a pair (set) or one of its individual points: click on the point using RMB and choose the appropriate command from the menu. Alternatively, you can use Del to remove the selected pair (set).

Best Fit Alignment with Points

We recommend using the Best fit type for scans located at a significant distance from each other or when aligning polygon models with CAD models.

Figure 142 Creation of point pair.

Figure 143 Alignment result.

To use this approach, follow these steps:

1. Make sure the Best fit type is selected.

2. Select the object you want to align, as the beginning of Alignment describes.

3. Enable the Advanced switch to adjust the following advanced settings:

   • Feature search radius, mm is the search radius for features used in geometry-based alignment. This setting applies only if Auto option for Points is turned off.

   • Max points is the maximum number of scan or fusion points considered during geometry-based alignment.

4. Specify several point pairs (Figure 142), keeping in mind the recommendations from Specifying Point Sets (Markers) and Editing their Positions.

5. Click Align markers. This alignment type takes into account only the coordinates of specified points and tries to reduce the distance between the markers for each pair.

6. Carry out Steps 5–7 of the procedure in Best Fit Alignment without Points.

Note

If point clouds from Artec Point are selected for best fit alignment, the Targets switch will be toggled on by default. This means that targets will be used as alignment points.

Figure 144 Alignment of Artec Point point clouds using targets.

Allow Scaling Option

While using the Best Fit alignment mode, Artec Studio allows you to align objects of different sizes without the need manuelly scale them. To do so, select the point pairs first, which will enable the Allow Scaling option, then simply enable this checkbox.

Note

You can check the scale factor in your log messages after alignment.

Nonrigid Alignment

While Best Fit (rigid) alignment can only perform such transformations as translation and rotation, the nonrigid algorithm can deform 3D data. This algorithm is intended to process so-called nonrigid objects: objects whose shapes have changed during the scan (e.g., models of animals or humans—see Figure 145, left). Keep in mind that the surface Artec Studio produces as a result of the deformation may differ from the surface of the actual object.

Figure 145 Two models after Best Fit (left) and nonrigid alignment (right).

Note

Nonrigid alignment works on models only. Thus, before you run it, prepare models by fusing the source scans. It is also necessary to first align models in Best Fit mode (see Best Fit Alignment without Points, Auto-Alignment or Best Fit Alignment with Points).

To run the nonrigid alignment, follow these steps:

1. Make sure the Nonrigid type is selected.

2. Select the models you want to align, as the beginning of Alignment describes.

3. If the models differ significantly from each other, we suggest that you specify several point pairs, keeping in mind the recommendations in Specifying Point Sets (Markers) and Editing their Positions.

4. Where necessary, adjust the deformation degree using the flexibility slider. The greater the flexibility value (i.e., the more “flexible” the deformation), the longer the computation will take.

   Warning

   Avoid extreme Flexibility values. Applying very large values may result in major surface distortions and may slow down the algorithm. Extremely low values, on the other hand, barely deform surface and often fail to produce the expected nonrigid-alignment results.

5. Click Align…. The algorithm will align models by deforming one of the model (see Figure 145, right). If you are dissatisfied with the alignment results, click and specify additional point pairs, or reposition the current pairs.

6. Select another model from the unregistered set and repeat the steps above.

7. Click Apply to confirm your alignment results or Cancel to reject them.

Figure 146 Flexibility slider in action: original model (left), nonrigidly aligned model with low Flexibility value (middle) and with high value (right).

Note

This version of Artec Studio does not support texture mapping on nonrigidly aligned models.

Complex Alignment

Complex alignment allows you to align not only scan to scan, but surface to surface within a given scan. Relative to other types, this one supports multipoint-set definition—that is, you can link more than two points. It’s useful for aligning scans obtained during circular movements of the 3D scanner in cases where fine or global registration fails to align them. To run the Complex alignment, perform the following steps:

Figure 147 Before alignment: two point-set added.

Figure 148 Alignment result.

1. Make sure the Complex type is selected.

2. Select the scans you want to align, as the beginning of Alignment describes. This alignment type allows you to work even with just one registered () scan.

3. Specify one or more point sets on the scan surface (see Figure 147), keeping in mind the recommendations in Specifying Point Sets (Markers) and Editing their Positions.

4. Click Align… to run the alignment with your specified restrictions (Figure 148 shows example results). If you are dissatisfied with the alignment results, click and specify additional point sets, or reposition the current sets. To redo an operation that you have undone, click .

5. Click Apply to confirm your alignment results or Cancel to reject them.

Datum Alignment

Some quality control tasks for a CAD model require very precise positioning of the CAD model relative to the original mesh. For this purpose, the Datum Alignment type was implemented in Artec Studio 17. This type allows you to view and evaluate the linear and angular deviations between the shapes of the CAD model and the mesh.

Figure 149 Example of datums specified

To use the Datum Alignment type, you need to specify a set of key geometric features called datums. Datums can be described as the reference points, vectors, or planes that help to designate the location and orientation of the model or its part. When you define a particular geometric feature as a datum, specific constraints dependent on the datum type are applied to the model, restricting the degrees of freedom controlled by that feature type.

Up to three datums can be specified as it is always enough to constrain all degrees of freedom. At present the following types of geometric features can be selected as datums:

• Cylinder,

• Cone,

• Sphere,

• Plane.

The type of datums and the order in which they are selected are important, as the degrees of freedom of the primary datum (datum A) will be applied first, with negligible or no deviation. Then, the remaining degrees of freedom will be constrained by the secondary datum (datum B) so that models will be aligned as precisely as the first constraint allows. Finally, the tertiary datum (datum C) will be considered, subject to the limitations imposed by the previous datums.

Note

Datum alignment is a fine alignment type, so it requires a pre-alignment to be performed first. If selected objects haven’t been aligned beforehand, a yellow warning will appear on the Datum Alignment tab along with a button that opens the Best fit alignment tab (see Figure 150).

Figure 150 The disabled Datum Alignment for non-aligned objects

To perform datum alignment, follow these steps:

1. Select a CAD model and a mesh to be aligned in the Workspace panel.

2. Open the Align panel. By default, it will open on the Best fit tab.

3. Prepare the selected CAD model and mesh for alignment using one of the Best Fit alignment methods: Best Fit Alignment without Points, Best Fit Alignment with Points or Drag Alignment. Then, click Align.

4. After the models are pre-aligned, switch from the Best fit tab to the Datum tab.

5. Wait until the models are prepared for further work.

   Note

   Artec Studio may require additional time to synchronize the models.

6. Specify the Reference model and the Mesh to align. You can hide the mesh from the 3D View window by deselecting the Show mesh option.

7. Click the desired element of the CAD model to select it as the first datum.

   The selected element will be labeled as Datum A (or Datum B, etc.). Depending on the type of element selected, a linear () and/or angular () deviation pop-up will be displayed (see Figure 149).

   • To move the deviation pop-up, drag it to the proper position using LMB.

   • To deselect a datum, click the x button to the right of its name in the Align panel or in the deviation pop-up.

   • To clear all datums, click the button in the Align panel.

8. Repeat step 6 to specify other datums if required.

   Note

   It is not necessary to specify three datums each time. In some cases, to constrain the system completely, only two datums are required (for example, two non-parallel cylinders). For some quality inspection scenarios, even one datum may be enough.

9. To complete the work with datum alignment, click Done.

In the Datum Alignment type, you can also calculate a distance map to visually estimate the deviation.

Figure 151 Example of a distance map calculated in the Datum Alignment type

To calculate the distance map:

1. Enable the Distance map switch in the Align panel.

2. Specify the Search distance value (in mm) and then click Calculate. Once the process is complete, the distance map will appear in the 3D View window.

3. To save the distance map for further work, click . It will be available in the Measures tab under the name Distance map 1 (Distance map 2, etc).

   See also

   Distance Maps

Global Registration

Once you have aligned all your scans, proceed to the next stage: global registration. The global-registration algorithm converts all one-frame surfaces to a single coordinate system using information on the mutual position of each surface pair. To do so, it selects a set of special geometry points on each frame, followed by a search for pair matches between points on different frames. To perform correctly, the algorithm requires an initial approximation, which a user ensures in the course of the Align operation.

Note

Global registration is a resource-intensive operation. Processing of large data sets may take a long time and require a large amount of RAM.

Before launching the global-registration algorithm, you can fix the position of some of the scans and/or their frames if necessary (for detail, see Locking Object’s Position).

To launch the algorithm,

1. Select all aligned scans in the Workspace panel.

2. Open Tools → Registration.

3. Make sure Global is selected as the registration type in Registration pop-up.

4. Check the Preset field on the Tools panel. It must display the actual scanner that was used to obtain the selected scans.

5. Click Run.

Global-Registration Parameters

Features	Geometry and texture, Geometry, or Reference cloud	The type of algorithm that will perform scan registration. If an object has rich texture and poor geometry, consider using the Geometry and texture option. For objects with rich geometry, you can choose Geometry mode to increase the registration speed. For registration of targets on a scanned object with those from a reference cloud, use Reference cloud mode.
Registration mode	Collective, Separate, or Separate then Collective	This enables registration of selected scans separately (one by one), altogether collectively, or both separately then collectively. Does not work with the Artec Ray and Artec Ray II.
Key frame ratio	0–0.6	Determines how many surfaces are treated as key frames. Decreasing this parameter when processing a feature-rich object may speed up registration. Increase it if only the previous attempts to register scans failed. Technically, values higher than 0.7, including 1, are possible, but they may significantly slow down the algorithm.
Focus on geometry	On/Off	Enable it for objects with rich geometry and poor texture. With this setting enabled, the registration will still take texture into account, but geometrical consistency will be given a higher priority. It is only available for Geometry and Texture mode.
Search features within, mm	3–5 mm (Spider); 5 mm (Eva/Leo) and 50 mm in Geometry and texture mode	To align frames, the algorithm needs information on how far away the identical features are distributed on the adjacent frames. Lower this search radius for objects with many repetitive features and increase for large objects to ensure the algorithm robustness. Increase this parameter sparingly since large values may cause erroneous registration and hinder calculation. Adjust it if Fine Registration completes with inappropriate values of maximum errors.
Smart subsampling	On/Off	Enable it to allow Artec Studio to automatically adjust the input geometry data as required, to speed up the processing. Designed for scans with HD reconstruction, enabling this option can speed up processing in Geometry and texture mode.

Locking Object’s Position

When you perform operations that change the relative position of objects or individual frames (such as Global Registration), it may be necessary sometimes to lock the repositioning of some of these objects or frames. Consider, for example, the case where you work with several scans made in the Target-Assisted Scanning mode. The initial relative position of such scans in space should be preserved.

Artec Studio supports two types of locking mechanism:

• Lock frames () - locks the repositioning of scan frames relative to each other during the global registration but allows you to move the scan itself. This mechanism applies only to scans containing frames, that is, obtained using handheld scanners such as Artec Eva, Spider, Leo, Micro, or Micro II.

• Lock object () - locks the repositioning of the object relative to the global coordinate system. This mechanism applies to scans and any other objects.

Note

Lock frames is the same mechanism that was called Lock in Artec Studio 15 and earlier.

The Lock object status affects not only the results of global registration but also the operations of Positioning, Transformation and Eraser tools (see Preparing Models To Export for details). When using these tools, any reposition or change to objects with the Lock object status is blocked.

You can lock or unlock a specific object in the Workspace panel:

• using the context menu of this object, or

• by clicking the object row in the Lock column area

To lock or unlock all objects in the Workspace panel, click the header of the Lock column ().

To lock or unlock all objects in a group, click the group row in the Lock column area ().

Note

When you change the lock status of several objects at once, the result of the mouse click will depend on the types of objects that are displayed in the Workspace panel or included into the group and on the current lock status of these objects.

Global Registration for Point Cloud Scans

Global registration with the Artec Ray and Artec Ray II presets only runs on several point cloud scans. Artec Studio offers four modes:

• Geometry Ray. The prerequisite step for this mode is alignment. The scans must have sufficient initial approximations and may not have targets.

• Targets considers only targets (spheres and checkerboard targets)

• Targets and geometry. Global registration first runs on the basis of targets, then on geometric features.

• Reference cloud. Global registration of targets on a scanned object with those from a reference cloud.

Possible Global-Registration Errors

• After the global-registration algorithm finishes, the frames are in disarray (see Figure 152, left) or the frame positions are unchanged. This error occurs because the application is configured for a different scanner type than the one that captured the data. Change the device type in the application settings (see Algorithm Settings).

• The algorithm has completed successfully, but a gap exists between two or more scans (see Figure 152, right). Select just these scans in the Workspace panel and run the global-registration algorithm. If the scans have drawn closer to each other but have failed to align after the algorithm finishes, increase the number of iterations and rerun the algorithm. Repeat this process until you achieve full alignment, then run global registration once again for all data. If you are unable to align several problematic scans, try aligning just two of them, then gradually increase the number of scans until all of them are aligned.

Figure 152 Global-registration errors: wrong settings on left and gap between scans on right.

Transferring Transformations

Sometimes it can be useful to transfer transformations from one scan to another (see Use Cases for Transformations Transferring). The transfer of transformations means that all transformations of scan frames resulting from the application of different Artec Studio tools are sequentially repeated for all frames of another scan. The transformations of the source scan as a whole are copied to the destination scan as well, including the global registration status.

Note

In general, you can transfer transformations from one scan to any other scan. However, of practical interest are only the cases when the source and destination scans are copies of each other.

To transfer the transformations from one scan to another, perform the following actions:

1. In the Workspace panel, right-click the source scan and choose Copy Transformation from the context menu (see Figure 153, left). The transformations of the source scan and its frames will be saved.

2. Select one or several destination scans.

3. Right-click the selected scan(s) and from the context menu choose Paste from <source scan name> (see Figure 153, right).

All saved transformations will be sequentially applied to the selected scans and their frames. After the transfer is finished, the information about the saved transformations will be erased.

You can use the corresponding buttons of the main window to undo and redo the transfer of transformations (see History of Project Changes).

Figure 153 Transferring transformations: copying transformations (left) and pasting them (right)

Use Cases for Transformations Transferring

Use case 1: Saving time when processing HD scans

Global registration of HD scans is a very time-consuming operation: several times longer than it takes for SD scans. To save time, you can utilize the following scheme:

1. Make a copy of an HD scan.

2. Treating the scan copy as an SD scan, perform all the required transformations including the global registration.

3. Transfer the transformations from the copy to the original HD scan.

Use case 2. Saving time when working with backup copies of scans

Global registration takes longer than any other scan and frames transformation. Therefore, replacing the Global registration with the transformations transfer may save time.

Consider the following scenario:

1. You make backup copies of scans and then only work with the original scans.

2. You remove some excess parts of the scans using Eraser, run Global registration, apply Outlier removal and finally perform the Fusion operation.

3. After examining the resulting model, you conclude that you removed too much when working with the Eraser and/or the Outlier removal.

You have to undo all previous operations and once again repeat the sequence of actions, including Global registration. To avoid the latter and save time, you can instead transfer the transformations from the current scans to their backups and then continue working with the backups.

Ray Scan Triangulation

Application offers two ways to convert point cloud surfaces to the commonly used models:

• Fusion operation

• Special triangulation algorithm

The latter approach is preferable to fusion in terms of speed. It generates a polygonal mesh from the original point cloud by simplifying its structure.

To launch this algorithm, follow the steps:

1. Mark a scan from Artec Ray or Artec Ray II using the flag icon in the Workspace panel.

2. Access Tools → Ray Scan Triangulation from the left toolbar.

3. If necessary, specify the Decimation ratio and set either of the threshold filters.

4. Click Run.

Mode	Simple, Adaptive (distance-aware)	Adaptive takes into account the distance from the scanner, whereas Simple removes points with the fixed step (Decimation ratio)
Decimation ratio	1–10	The larger the value, the more the points will be culled. 1 leaves the point cloud unchanged. 2 culls half of the points, 4 keeps some 25% of the total amount of points, 10 about 10%.
Render mesh based on	Distinct colors for sections, One random color, Vertex colors	It can color an output model on the basis of Vertex colors or sections constituting the point cloud scan. The latter yields multicolor model.
Polygon edge length (max), mm	Above 0.1 mm	Algorithm will remove triangles whose edge lengths are greater than the specified value.
Polygon angle (min), deg	1–60°	Triangles with angles smaller than specified limit (in degrees) won’t be created in the resulting mesh. Extremely large values that are out of the recommended range may yield no mesh.
Incidence angle (max), deg	0.1–90°	If the angle between the normal to triangle and the scanner view direction is larger than the specified one, this triangle is subject to removal.
Incidence angle between vertices (max), deg	0.1–90°	The algorithm will remove triangles whose edges form angles (toward the scanner viewpoint) greater than the specified limit (in degrees).

Creating Models (Fusion)

Fusion is a process that creates a polygonal 3D model. It effectively melts and solidifies the captured and processed frames. Fusion is the most interesting part of the processing task because a polygonal 3D model is what most people expect to see when performing a 3D scan. To this end, you can use one of the following algorithms, each of which has a self-explanatory name (see also the summary in Table 12):

• Smart fusion perfectly reconstructs fine features and is suitable for both industrial objects and human bodies. It is compatible with all scanner types. Depending on the Sharpness slider value, Smart fusion can deliver either smoother or more detailed geometry.

• Fast fusion (legacy) produces quicker results and constructs a noisier geometry at the same time.

Tip

To use the Fast fusion algorithm, open the Settings window, select the Enable old fusion algorithms checkbox under the Legacy section of the General tab, and restart the Artec Studio.

Figure 154 Models of a human subject obtained using various algorithms: Fast fusion (left), Smart fusion (smooth, middle) and Smart fusion (sharp, right).

Figure 155 Models of a shoe sole obtained using various algorithms: Fast fusion (left), Smart fusion (smooth, middle) and Smart fusion (sharp, right).

Table 12 Comparison of fusion modes.

	Smart Fusion (smooth)	Smart Fusion (sharp)	Fast Fusion (legacy)
Usage	Large, noisy data sets with patchy missing regions; scans of moving objects	Scans from Artec Spider; scans having regions with fine details and sharp edges	Fast results for large data sets; also for measurements
Eva	resolution no less than 0.5
Spider	resolution no less than 0.15
Spider II	resolution no less than 0.1
Leo	resolution no less than 0.6
Fill holes	Available		Not applicable
Features	Smoother results. Can compensate for slight movements, but not recommended for accurate measurements Relatively slow	Higher level of detail. Faster than Smooth fusion, but may intensify existing noise.	Resulting surfaces are relatively noisy.

To obtain a model:

1. Make sure the scans you intend to fuse have passed Global registration.

2. Select the scans in the Workspace panel using the checkboxes.

3. Open the Tools panel.

4. Hover the mouse cursor over the Fusion label in order to activate the controls of the tool and the pop-up with the default parameters (see Figure 156).

5. Specify the necessary parameter values by clicking the icon (optional).

6. Click Run.

7. View the model in the 3D View window and in the Workspace panel once the algorithm finishes. The model name will have Smart fusion followed by the index number.

Figure 156 The Fusion pop-up with the default parameters.

The fusion algorithms use the following parameters:

• Type: Smart (smooth), Smart (sharp) or Fast (legacy). For more detai on the fusion types, see the Comparison of fusion modes.

• Max mesh resolution, mm is the step of the grid (in millimeters) that the algorithm uses to reconstruct a polygonal model. In other words, this parameter defines the mean distance between two points in a model. The lower the resolution value, the sharper the shape. When specifying values, keep in mind the default values, lower limits in Table 12 and Error.

• Sharpness specifies the level of detail in the final fusion and allows to switch from smooth geometry to higher resolution and sharper detailed geometry within a single tool

• Fill holes instructs the algorithm to fill holes in the mesh being reconstructed; option unavailable for Fast fusion. The methods for filling the holes are as follows:

  • With radius smaller fills all holes with radius less than or equal to the specified value in the Hole radius (max), mm text box

  • By relative radius fills holes with relative radius less than or equal to the specified value in the Relative hole radius (max), mm text box based on the internal filling holes parameters of the scanner. Recommended for combined scans of different scanners or for Ray scans.

  • Later, manually prompts you to fill holes manually in the Fix holes panel, which opens automatically

  • Manually by relative radius prompts you to fill holes manually in the Fix holes panel, which opens automatically. Recommended for combined scans of different scanners or for Ray scans.

  • None fills no holes

  • All (watertight) automatically fills all holes in the mesh

• Remove targets allows you to erase small embossments from surfaces on which targets are placed (see Target-Assisted Scanning). This checkbox is unavailable for Fast fusion.

• Glare-noise reduction allows you to significantly reduce the glare related noise in the models obtained from the scans made with Artec Micro or Artec Micro II. This checkbox is only available for Artec Micro and Artec Micro II for the Fusion algorithm.

• Filter frames by error is a setting that automatically excludes all frames with error values above a set maximum threshold. Turn it on, and then enter the maximum error threshold value in the box that appears below.

Figure 157 Tools panel: parameters of the fusion algorithm.

Multi-preset Fusion

Starting from Artec 19, multi-preset fusion allows processing data from multiple scanners to create a single fusion. Artec Studio provides an interface to set the 3D resolution for each scanner type included in the scanned data.

The Highest 3D resolution value defines the resolution for the primary scanner in the input field (i.e., the scanner with the highest resolution among those selected).

Figure 158 Multi-preset fusion with the Highest 3D resolution for Artec Spider II.

To set an each scanners resolution manually, click the gear icon . The resolution of each scanner type from the selected objects in the Workspace panel can be adjusted manually by clicking the and next to the respective input fields.

Figure 159 Input fields for setting the resolution of each scanner type used.

Note

Resolution limit toggle switches for all scanners, except the one with the highest resolution, can be turned off. When disabled, Artec Studio will ignore the resolution of these scans and process data at the highest resolution, which may decrease performance.

Fusion-Algorithm Errors

Occasionally, defects appear in the 3D model after fusion; some are correctable by creating additional scans, whereas others are correctable by using the model-processing tools described in the next section.

Figure 160 Surface noise caused by insufficient data (left) and improved model after adding one more scan (right).

Errors that can be corrected by capturing additional scans include low-amplitude noise on the surface (see Figure 160, left). Normally, this error indicates that the affected area has a small number of frames. The number of frames needed to eliminate the noise depends on the reflective properties of the object’s surface. To correct the error, you need one more scan to cover the noisy area (see Figure 160, right).

Sometimes the cause of noise is an insufficient number of scanning angles. Areas captured at a larger angle have more noise than areas captured at a direct angle (i.e., 90 degrees). You can correct this error by scanning the area again using a better angle.

When the scanning conditions or the object features are such that you are unable to capture additional data, you can correct errors using the Fix holes (see Fixing Holes) or Smoothing (Smoothing (Tools)) tools. If such errors are frequent, reduce the speed at which you move the scanner around the object, or increase the capture rate (see Decreasing Scanning Speed).

Editing Models

The resulting fusion model may contain surface defects due to scanning or registration errors. Artec Studio provides a number of tools to correct such errors:

• Repair corrects the model’s triangulation errors.

• Small-object filter removes small objects located near the model surface.

• Fix holes semiautomatically fills holes and smooths the model edges.

• Hole filling fills holes in the model automatically

• Smoothing filters low-amplitude noise over the whole model

• Smoothing brush enables manual smoothing of the surface areas with the most noise

• Mesh simplification reduces the number of polygons in a model while minimizing lost accuracy

• Isotropic remesh creates isotropic mesh while keeping the processed mesh as close to the original as possible

Each algorithm processes all scans selected in the Workspace panel and replaces the original data with the results. If the algorithm is unsuccessful, you can restore the original data by clicking (Undo) in the Workspace panel.

See also

Boolean operations.

Mesh Optimization (Tools)

In Artec Studio 18, several tools, including the Small-object filter, Hole filling, and Mesh simplification, have been combined into a single tool called Mesh optimization. Using all of them at the same time is optional, but it can proide you with better output when running the algorithm.

To start working with Mesh Optimization tool, select only the model you are currently editing in the Workspace panel, open Tools → Mesh Optimization. Once you set up all parameters that you need, click the Run button either on the pop-up of the Mesh Optimization tool or next to its name on the Tools panel to run Mesh Optimization algorithm.

Small-Object Filter (Tools, Mesh Optimization)

Small-object filter is a part of the Mesh Optimization tool which can help you erase outliers before fusion (see Eliminating 3D Noise (Outlier Removal)), Artec Studio may solidify and preserve them in the scene as small, distant fragments.

You can effectively remove these remaining outliers by using a filtering algorithm.

To remove these artifacts, make sure that Remove Small Objects checkbox is selected (see Figure 161). Additionally, you can adjust the following parameters:

• Remove surfaces

  • All except largest instructs the algorithm to erase all objects except the one with the most polygons

  • Smaller than specified erases from the scene all objects whose number of polygons is less than the amount specified in the Polygon count (max) parameter.

Figure 161 Filtering of small objects: before (left) and after (right).

Hole Filling

Sometimes the shape of an object or the scanning conditions prevent you from properly capturing of all parts of the scene. As a result, the fused 3D model will have holes. In such instances, you can use either of the hole-filling tools to interpolate the surface.

Bridges or Smart Hole Filling

The Bridges tab is intended to connect a pair of the edge fragments by constructing a surface that follows the curvature of the neighboring surfaces.

To create a bridge, follow the procedure:

1. Open Fix holes → Bridges. All holes will outline in red.

2. Specify two opposite fragments 1 between which a bridge will go (Figure 163). There are two ways to do this:

   Quick method	Ctrl-key method
   Perform the steps below for each fragment:	Click once anywhere in the 3D View to activate this method and then perform the steps below for each fragment:
   Point the cursor at the edge. A part of this edge will be automatically highlighted indicating a future fragment. Drag the cursor along the edge to find the desired fragment location. Click LMB to confirm the fragment.	Press and hold Ctrl and then point the cursor at the edge. Press and hold Ctrl+LMB to specify a fragment beginning. Still holding Ctrl+LMB, drag the cursor to specify the entire fragment. Release Ctrl+LMB to confirm the fragment.

3. Once you’ve confirmed the second fragment, a bridge preview will appear.

4. Drag the square sizing handles to adjust the bridge width and position as necessary.

5. Adjust bridge curvature on both sides and Bridge smoothness as necessary.

6. Click Build bridge to confirm your bridge.

Figure 162 From left to right: original surfaces, bridge preview, actual bridge.

Figure 163 Specifying fragments. Correct fragments can resolve original geometry.

The table below lists the possible actions matched with the options and commands for this tool.

Prepare edges by removing raggedness	Select the Smooth edges first checkbox
Preserve the original geometry (Figure 163)	Clear the Smooth edges first checkbox
Smooth bridge surface	Use the Bridge smoothness slider
Edit bridge-preview position	Drag the square controls around the corners of the bridge preview
Adjust bridge tension	Use interactive sliders Curvature (start, end)
Delete bridge preview	Click Clear preview or Delete key

1

Normally a bridge goes between two opposite fragments of one hole. In complex cases, you may use fragments on different holes or edges.

Smoothing or Keeping Edges

Smoothing edges might not always be beneficial to you. If the bridge failed to recreate the original geometry, try one or several actions from the following list:

• Clear the Smooth edges first checkbox.

• Use small or medium values of the Bridge smoothness slider (Figure 164).

• Select fragments correctly.

Figure 164 Small smoothness values on left and maximum on right.

Automatic Hole Filling (Tools, Mesh Optimization)

To quickly and automatically fill holes, make sure that Heal bad polygons checkbox of the Mesh Optimization pop-up is selected. The algorithm processes the following polygon types which can be selected by clicking the icon next to the Heal bad polygons checkbox:

• Non-manifold

• Dangling

• Crossing

• Folded with angle (The angle can be specified in the angle field)

Figure 165 Hole-filling algorithm: original model on left, processed on right.

Mesh Simplification (Tools, Mesh Optimization)

The mesh produced after fusion may be less than optimal for some applications because it will contain a large number of polygons. This complexity will increase the amount of memory the model occupies, hindering further processing. To optimize the model size while retaining accuracy, toggle the Mesh simplification switch in the Mesh Optimization tool.

Figure 166 Mesh simplification: original mesh on the left, optimized mesh on the right.

Regular mesh simplifcation type allows to select the Target when simplifying option:

• Shape deviation optimizes model to a predetermined accuracy: the Maximum shape deviation, mm parameter defines the optimized model’s maximum allowable deviation (in millimeters) from the original model. When the algorithm reaches this value, the optimization stops.

• Remove small polygons performs simple mesh optimization, removing triangles whose edge lengths are less than the Polygon edge length (max), mm value (in millimeters).

• Polygon count simplifies the model by targeting the number of triangles specified in the Polygon count text box. The algorithm minimizes the resulting model’s deviation from the original model, but the final deviation value will remain unknown until processing concludes. Use this method when you know how many triangles the resulting model should have.

  Tip

  To determine the number of triangles, reveal the Properties panel for the appropriate model in the Workspace panel.

• Keep texture is similar to the Polygon count algorithm, but intended for meshes with textures mapped by the Atlas method (see Applying Texture (Procedure)). This approach not only simplifies the polygon grid, reducing the number of triangles, but it preserves texture.

Tip

Since the UV methods tend to slightly reduce texture resolution, we recommend using either of them only when no raw scans are available. It is generally better to simplify models using one of the regular method and then reapply texture.

The three first algorithms in the list above have the additional parameter:

Keep edges maintains the model boundary. Mesh simplification on the scan edges may affect their geometry. Thus, if the shape of the boundaries is more important than the optimized mesh, select this checkbox. Otherwise, clear it, and the algorithm will simplify the boundary mesh.

Figure 167 Boundary-appearance options: Keep edges enabled (left) and disabled (right).

Note

Mesh simplification may take a long time when the parameters of the original and optimized models are significantly different (for example, if the deviation value is high in Shape deviation mode or if the required number of polygons in Polygon count mode is much smaller than the number in the original model). For very large 3D models the operation requires extensive memory resources and may fail owing to insufficient RAM. Free the memory by closing unused applications and by optimizing memory usage in Artec Studio, keeping in mind the recommendations in Memory Management: Smart RAM Usage and History of Project Changes.

The Fast mesh simplification algorithm works faster than the regular one.

• Simplification ratio option allows to select the percentage of polygons to keep in the simplified mesh.

• Target polygon count determines the number of triangles for the resulting model, depending on the value of Simplification ratio. You can find out how many are in the actual model by double-clicking it in the Workspace window.

• Nonstrict polygon count option:

  • If this checkbox is cleared, the value specified in the Polygon count text box remains constant.

  • If this checkbox is selected and the algorithm is unable to produce a surface with the specified number of triangles (Polygon count), Artec Studio will automatically update this value. In other words, improving the quality of the resulting surface is the primary objective.

• Keep edges maintains the model boundary. Mesh simplification on the scan edges may affect their geometry. Thus, if the shape of the edges is more important than the optimized mesh, select this checkbox. Otherwise, clear it, and the algorithm will simplify the boundary mesh.

• Keep texture boundary preserves all vertices on the boundaries of texture patches, causing them to be ignored by the algorithm. Consequently, there is no need to perform texturing again.

After adjusting the algorithm settings, click Run to start processing.

Defeature Brush (Editor)

Erasing certain geometrical imperfections often demands further processing of the resulting holes in the model. The Defeature brush combines functions of the Eraser and Hole filling tools and may boost your productivity. To use it, follow these steps:

Warning

If you edit a textured model, note the following. Since the texture will incorrectly fit the altered surface, the Defeature brush will remove it from the model. So you will need to repeat texturing after you finish editing.

Figure 168 Defeature brush: imperfection on the scanned surface (left), results of applying the tool (right).

1. Select one model in the Workspace panel.

2. Open the Editor panel using the side toolbar and click either Defeature brush or hit D.

3. In the Editor panel, choose the required selection type.

4. Consult the instructions for each mode and select regions on the model that you want to modify. To clear all selections, click Deselect.

5. Click Apply. The software will delete the feature, close up the hole and smooth the surface.

To undo changes, click in the Workspace panel or menu Edit, or hit Ctrl+Z. Each click of the Apply button generates a command history entry. To undo several operations, use the dropdown menu of button and select the lowest entry.

Selection Types

Type	Illustration	Usage
2D		Hold down Ctrl and use Scroll wheel to adjust the tool size. Paint with Ctrl+LMB to create a selection.
3D		See above.
Rectangular		Use Ctrl+LMB to select a rectangular region.
Lasso		Use Ctrl+LMB to freely outline an irregular region. You can release LMB (not Ctrl) and then continue clicking on desired points to select a desired shape.
Cutoff-plane		Create selection as in 2D mode. Once you have released the mouse button, a plane will appear. If necessary, adjust the plane level by using Scroll wheel while holding down Ctrl+Shift or orient the plane freely in 3D space. To this end, hit Alt to display the designated control. Then still holding the key, drag the required control ring. Note that it doesn’t work with raw point clouds from Artec Point.

If you need to deselect any region, hold Ctrl+Alt and reselect this region. To clear all selections, click Deselect.

If the Select through checkbox is selected, all surfaces throughout the model are affected. If not, the brush only works on the visible surface.

See also

Hot keys in Editor.

Figure 169 Applying Cutoff-plane selection in Defeature brush.

Smoothing

Smoothing (Tools)

The smoothing algorithm evens out noisy areas in the 3D model. Artec Studio provides two such tools: automatic smoothing of the entire model and manual smoothing of specific areas identified using a brush (see Smoothing Brush (Editor)).

To run the automatic smoothing algorithm, open the Tools panel and select Smoothing. You need only set the Steps parameter (the number of algorithm iterations to be performed).

Smoothing Brush (Editor)

The Smoothing brush is a tool that you can employ selectively in specific areas without touching areas that require no alteration (for more information about automatic smoothing, consult Smoothing (Tools)).

To use the Smoothing brush,

1. Select just one model.

2. Open the Editor panel, and click the icon or hit S.

3. Hit Ctrl, an orange region will appear around the cursor in the 3D View window.

4. Change brush size if necessary:

   • Use either the Ctrl+[ and Ctrl+] shortcuts or

   • Use Scroll wheel.

   • Enter a size (in millimeters) in the Brush size field.

   • Alternatively, you can adjust the slider bar in the Smoothing brush panel.

5. Set the smoothing strength if necessary:

   • Enter the desired value in the Smoothing strength field or

   • Adjust the slider bar.

6. Hold LMB and paint the surface region in order to smooth it. The tool will smooth the affected areas (see Figure 170, right).

To undo changes, click in the Workspace panel or hit Ctrl+Z as many times as needed to return to the original state of the model since each brush stroke generates a command history entry.

Figure 170 Before smoothing (left) and smoothing out a poorly captured area (right).

Smoothing Edges

The Edges tab allows you to smooth ragged edges of the model.

To smooth an edge or any part of it, follow the steps:

1. Open Fix holes → Edges. It will show the list of edges detected on the surface. These defects are sorted by their full length.

   • Mark the checkbox next to the edge in the list to select a whole edge 2.

   • In 3D View window, hold down LMB and drag the square control to specify a part of the edge.

   • Use the Select all button to select all edges.

2. Artec Studio will highlight these edges in red and draw yellow curves alongside them depicting smoothed boundaries.

3. Use the Strength slider to control the edge-smoothing intensity as necessary.

4. Click Smooth edges.

5. Click Apply to confirm the results. If the results aren’t satisfactory, use the button to cancel recent changes.

2

If the Move camera to selection option is checked, the model will automatically rotate to display the selected hole.

Figure 171 Boundary selection for edge smoothing

Figure 172 Edge-smoothing algorithm results.

Fixing Holes

The Holes tab provides Flat and Smooth hole filling options for respective surfaces.

1. Open Fix holes from the side panel.

2. Select the Holes tab. It will show the list of holes detected on the surface. These defects are sorted by their perimeter length.

3. Select a hole either in 3D View window or mark the checkbox next to it in the list. Artec Studio will highlight these holes in red (see Figure 173).

   Note

   If the Move camera to selection option is checked, the model will automatically rotate to display the selected hole.

   Hint

   Use the Select all and Deselect all buttons in the panel to select or clear all selections, respectively.

4. Select a suitable filling mode. If you are filling a hole on a flat surface of the mesh, go for the Flat mode, and go for the Smooth mode to fill tricky holes in the curved parts of the mesh.

5. Click Fill holes to repair your model.

6. Click Apply to confirm the results. If the results aren’t satisfactory, use the button to cancel recent changes.

Figure 173 One hole on a curved surface, marked for correction.

Figure 174 Result from running the Fill holes algorithm using the Smooth mode.

If you try to exit the Fix holes mode without accepting changes, the software will ask you for confirmation.

Photo Registration

The photo registration algorithm in Artec Studio enables you to apply textures to models using photographs. Photos of the object can be used to project textures onto fused models. This advanced texturing approach can be used to capture complex textures and significantly enhance models.

Preparing Object

To obtain best texturing results, it is important to follow the below given tips before scanning and taking photographs.

1. Before taking photos, make sure the object has prominent texture features.

2. For large objects with monochromatic surfaces, add additional features in the background to highlight the texture. However, if you will have to rotate the object, it is better to use a plain background.

3. Provide adequate and uniform lighting. It is recommended to use external studio lighting for cameras with low light-sensitivity. Do not use the flash.

4. In the case when exposure is too big to hold the camera in hands, it will help to use a tripod.

5. Make sure the object remains stationary during scanning and taking photos. If you need to turn or move the object to scan all sides, it is recommended to take photos immediately after scanning in one position, before moving the object to scan in another position.

Capturing Photos

The photos for registration can be captured using any SLR camera or a smartphone with a good camera. For optimal results, it is important to capture good quality photos that are sharp and bright, and not noisy and blurred. Here are some best practices for capturing good quality photos for texturing.

1. Capture photos from a proper and fixed distance. The object must be at the center of the photo and occupy the most space, with minimal background details.

2. Adjust and fix the focal length, exposure and aperture.

Note

A best practice is to capture all photos with the same settings.

1. Capture subsequent photos of the object with at least 66% or 2/3 overlap while moving the camera. Take a series of photos, much like the texture frames captured by Artec scanners.

2. Photograph each element of the object at least 3 times.

3. Avoid taking photos of any additional objects that can disturb the texture of the object you’re scanning, like a pedestal the object is placed on.

4. It is recommended to convert all photos to .jpeg format and preserve their EXIF information.

Color corrections or white-balance corrections can be applied to photos for post-processing, but it is advisable to process all the photos in the same manner. Avoid geometrical transformations, resizing, distortion corrections, or color-space transformations.

Importing Photos

1. After all the necessary photos have been captured, save them to a folder in your system.

2. Obtain the 3D model of the object using the standard procedures until fusion.

3. Import all the necessary photos, using the File → Import → Import photos menu option.

Note

Starting from version 17, you can import pictures from several different cameras or the same camera but with different exposition settings.

Artec Studio will automatically sort the imported pictures by focal length, camera type and resolution and place them into separate sets of photos. These sets will appear in the Workspace panel and in the 3D View window. Pictures with random parameters will be placed to the Unusable set of photos.

Figure 175 An imported set of photos in the Workspace panel and in the 3D View window.

Before registering the imported photos, you can inspect their quality.

Inspecting Quality Of Photos

In Artec Studio 17, it is now possible to assess each captured photo for adequacy of texture capturing or misalignments before completing photo registration. To inspect the quality of the imported pictures, follow these steps:

1. In the Workspace panel, double-click a set of photos. The entire list of pictures it contains will appear.

   • For each picture, its name and the error registration value will be provided.

   • Pictures that failed to register will be highlighted in red.

   • To locate the picture in the 3D View window, select it in the list. You can also use the arrow keys to navigate from one picture to another.

   Note

   By default, all objects in the 3D View window except the pictures of the selected set will be hidden. To see other objects, select the Show other selected objects option.

2. Double-click an individual picture to inspect it closer. It will be opened in a superimposition viewing mode:

   • To compare the model’s texture with a reference picture or check for misalignments, use the Show photo toggle or press Ctrl+Q. The 3D model will appear in the 3D View window.

   • To zoom in and out, use Scroll wheel.

   • To move the picture, hover over it and drag it holding down Scroll wheel.

   • To exit the viewing mode, press either LMB or RMB and drag in any direction.

Figure 176 Inspecting the quality: a—the Show photo toggle is on, b—the Show photo toggle is off.

3. To delete a picture from the set of photos, click it in the Workspace panel by RMB and select Delete from the context menu. You can also press Delete on the keyboard.

Registering Photos

To register photos for use in further texturing of the model, follow these steps:

1. In the Workspace panel, select all the scans of the model, the fusion and the desired sets of photos (all three items).

2. Open Tools → Registration.

3. Select Photo as the registration type in the Registration pop-up.

   Note

   Artec Studio automatically sorts the imported photos, and groups them into sets based on their settings (focal length, resolution, camera type, orientation etc.). Inapplicable photos are removed into a separate photo set.

4. Set the photo registration parameters as necessary. See Photo-Registration Parameters.

5. Click Run.

Once the photos are registered, follow the Texturing procedure and apply the texture to the model.

Photo-Registration Parameters

Image pre-processing	On/Off	Enable it to apply contrast to scanner images. For Eva, Leo, or Spider (if the object was captured from large distances and the textures are dark).
Use model in registration	On/Off	Enable it to perform registration not only on photos but also on geometric data.
Feature sensitivity	High/Low	Select the level of sensitivity small and repeated texture patterns on the object. The higher the sensitivity, the better quality of the algorithm.

Texturing

Artec scanners are equipped with a color camera, allowing you to capture 3D surfaces with texture and expanding the range of objects available for scanning. Texturing is a process that projects textures from the individual frames onto the fused mesh.

Preparing Model

To take advantage of texture, do the following:

1. Make sure the Don’t record texture checkbox is cleared.

2. Adjust the capture frequency for texture frames if necessary (see Texture-Recording Mode or Frequency for Capturing Texture Frames).

3. Avoid turning off the flash bulb.

4. Adjust the texture brightness in Preview mode by using the eponymous slider in the Scan panel.

5. Scan the object using a tracking algorithm of your choice. Captured frames are marked with the checkerboard icon in the Workspace panel (surface-view mode) (see Figure 87, right).

6. Process the data and create a model, consulting the list in the beginning of Data Processing or Use Autopilot.

7. Run a mesh-simplification algorithm for the resulting model (see Mesh Simplification (Tools, Mesh Optimization)) to accelerate the texturing process.

8. Use the Texture panel to apply the texture to the model.

Applying Texture (Procedure)

The 3D model obtained after fusion contains no texture information. To apply textures onto a model, do the following:

1. Open the Texture panel.

2. Choose a model from the first list (see Figure 177); Artec Studio will apply the textures to this model.

3. From the second list, select the scans from which you created the model (these scans have the required textures 3) or the photos you registered using photo registration.

4. Next, choose a method for applying textures to the model. Artec Studio offers two methods:

   • Preview (triangle map)

   • Export (texture atlas)

5. Select the required Output texture size 4 and other options as necessary (Supplementary Settings).

6. Click Apply to start the texturing process 5.

7. Finally, when the texture is ready, adjust it as necessary.

3

Note that those texture frames from Leo scans that appear blackish when previewing them in the 3D View window will not be used for texturing the model (see Specifics of displaying the textures of Leo scans for details).

4

Texturing with the 16K resolution (16384x16384) is only available if your graphics card features at least 3 GB of GPU memory.

5

To optimize resource utilization, Artec Studio unloads all surfaces from memory, except those needed for texturing, before running the applying procedure. For a more detailed description of selective project-data loading, see Memory Management: Smart RAM Usage.

To reduce or increase the resolution (Output texture size) of the already applied texture, you can re-apply it several times faster by enabling the Export (reuse UV map) option.

To replicate texture from a textured model instead of raw scans, use the Export (transfer from model). Ensure that you’ve selected this model in the Select texture source field. Using texture from a textured model might be useful in the following cases:

• Original scans are lost.

• Intention to replicate texture altered using Texture healing brush.

• Speed up texturing identical models or models undergone Defeature brush operations.

Figure 177 Choosing a texture-application method and adjusting its parameters.

Warning

We recommend that you avoid applying texture to models that have undergone major changes in geometry or orientation. The algorithm will apply the texture incorrectly if you have done any of the following:

• Position or transform the model relative to its source scans

• Nonrigid Alignment

• Erase major parts of the model

Perform these operations only after texturing.

Modes

Table 13 Comparison of the texture-applying methods.

Mode	Texture Distortion	Speed	Number of Textures	Texture-Resolution Management
For preview	Does not preserve aspect ratio of triangles	Fast	One or more	Adjust triangle size and texture-image resolution
For export	Preserves aspect ratio of triangles	Slow	Only one	Adjust texture-image resolution

Texturing for Preview (Triangle Map)

The Preview method transfers all textured triangles to a square texture image (or a series of images). You can adjust the Triangle size (in pixels) 6 using the eponymous slider (see Figure 178, right). To select the resulting texture size, use the dropdown list (maximum texture size depends on the capabilities of your graphics card). After changing the triangle/texture size, the estimated number of textures will appear in the Estimated area at the bottom of the panel; the actual number may differ slightly, however.

6

Triangle size is determined by the number of pixels per side.

Texturing for Export (Texture Atlas)

The Export method cuts the surface into pieces, then unfolds and nests these pieces flat and fits them into the specified image size (see Figure 178 (middle) and Figure 115 in Displaying Boundaries of Texture Atlas). This method takes longer to run than Preview, but the resulting texture is much more convenient for manual editing.

Figure 178 Texture mapping methods: mesh with texture applied (left), texture-atlas sample (middle) and triangle-map sample (right). The latter covers only a portion of the mesh surface (the rest two images not shown).

Supplementary Settings

To modify a texture using an inpainting technique, use one of these two options:

Missing Texture Inpainting

This option allows you to apply a texture to regions with no texture information by spreading it from the neighboring regions.

Targets Removal

Targets removal is similar to inpainting. It paints out targets by applying surrounding texture information (targets are used to facilitate scanning—see Target-Assisted Scanning). This option makes sense if you enabled Targets removal before producing this fusion model (see Creating Models (Fusion)).

AI Texture Enhancement

This option allows you to apply HD texture image for further texturing.

Glare Reduction

Glare reduction is intended to eliminate glare spots on texture. This option is only available for Texturing for Export (Texture Atlas) and requires many texture frames captured from different perspectives.

1. Check whether the source scans include sufficient number of frames (especially texture frames). If necessary, increase texture-frame rate and rescan.

2. Select the Glare reduction checkbox.

3. Adjust the Reduction level slider as necessary. Avoid extreme values.

Hint

Glare reduction is a time consuming algorithm. If you plan to obtain a high-resolution texture, we advise you to first tweak the settings on low values (for example, 512 x 512) and then reapply texture with the required Output texture size.

Background Colors Suppression

Object’s surfaces may inherit texture information from the surroundings. To diminish this impact, use the Background colors suppression option. This option is only available for Texturing for Export (Texture Atlas), requires the enabled Glare reduction option and a sufficient number of texture frames captured from different perspectives.

1. Ensure the Glare reduction checkbox is selected.

2. Select the Background colors suppression checkbox.

3. Adjust the Reduction level slider as necessary. Avoid extreme values.

Figure 179 Diminishing background color impact.

Depth of field correction

With this option enabled, texturing will be performed considering the depth of field information from the processed data, resulting in a sharper and clearer final output.

Texture Adjustment

After the texturing is complete, you can adjust the texture on the model (see Figure 181).

Figure 180 Hue, saturation and brightness representation.

You can adjust the following texture parameters by way of the corresponding sliders (see Figure 180 for details):

• Brightness

• Saturation

• Hue

• Contrast

• Gamma correction

Figure 181 Texture adjustments.

The initial position of the Hue slider corresponds to the current texture color. Dragging it left or right corresponds to rotation counterclockwise or clockwise, respectively, on the color wheel.

After making the necessary changes, click Apply to transfer the resulting textured model to the Workspace panel.

To reopen the texture-adjustment dialog, follow the steps:

1. Select a textured model in Workspace.

2. Use RMB to call the context menu.

3. Select the Adjust texture command from the list.

Texture-Healing Brush: Manual Inpainting

You can manually inpaint missing textures by using the Texture-healing brush. This tool is based on the same algorithm as the Missing texture inpainting option covered in Applying Texture (Procedure). The inpainting algorithm uses texture information from neighboring regions to fill in areas with missing or incorrect texture. Left image in Figure 182 shows a small texture imperfection: a felt-tip pen mark on the figurine. Results of inpainting this region appear in Figure 182 (right).

Figure 182 Texture-healing brush: before application (left) and after (right).

To launch the tool and inpaint a texture, do the following:

Hint

We advise you to first back up your model by selecting the Duplicate scans command from its context menu since the undo function is unavailable in this tool.

1. Mark the model textured for Export with the flag.

   Important

   This version of Artec Studio does not support texture restoration on the models ‘textured for Preview’ (triangle map) and in regions of any models that have been corrected using the Defeature brush.

2. Open the Editor panel by clicking its icon in the side toolbar.

3. Select the Texture-healing brush.

4. Hold down Ctrl while using Scroll wheel or [ and ] keys to adjust the tool size. It should not exceed the size of the region that needs texture correction.

5. Paint over the region of interest using LMB while holding down Ctrl so that the tool (a circle or a spot) only rolls over the problem area. Try to avoid touching neighboring areas. Use the Deselect button to clear all the selections.

6. Repeat the previous step as necessary.

7. Click Apply to accept the changes or close the panel to reject them.

Note

If you paint an area in which the number of polygons exceeds the value specified in the settings dialog (see Warnings), a message will appear prompting you to either ignore the value, which means that processing may take longer, or cancel the operation.

Preparing Models To Export

Moving, Rotating and Scaling (Transformation Tool)

The Transformation tool allows you to move, rotate, scale and mirror objects relative to the global coordinate-system axes.

To access this tool, open the Editor panel and select Transformation tool or hit T. The panel will open, displaying four tabs that correspond to different modes for altering the object position in the global coordinate system. The name of the active mode appears at the bottom of the 3D View window.

To revert your changes inside the tool, use the Reset button. Artec Studio applies changes when you leave the tool. Use the (Undo) button in the Workspace panel or hit Ctrl+Z to reset changes after you close the tool.

Hint

To quickly move objects to the origin and align them with the camera viewport, use the Auto-position button.

Note

The Transformation tool does not affect objects with the Lock object status (). See Locking Object’s Position for details.

Translate

To enter translation mode, click the Translate tab or hit T. Three input fields will appear in the Editor panel showing the current origin coordinates (in millimeters) of the local coordinate system. The initial position of the local coordinate system will be in the center of the global one. To translate an object, do either of the following:

• Enter the new coordinate values for the local system using the input fields in the Editor panel. To adjust the position only along a specific axis, first hit the corresponding X, Y or Z key.

• Translate the object in the 3D View window by dragging the corresponding control (see Figure 183):

  • Square in the center to move it freely

  • Arrow to move it along a specific axis

  • Lines between arrows to move it along the two axes simultaneously

Note

Orienting the object may be easier if you first specify a new position for the origin of the local coordinate system: double-click on the desired surface point in the 3D View window.

Figure 183 Translation control

Rotate

To enter rotation mode, click the Rotate tab or hit R. Three input fields containing the Euler-angle values will appear in the Editor panel. Initially, all values are set to zero. To rotate the object, do either of the following:

• Enter the new angle values (in degrees) using the input fields in the Editor panel.

• Drag one of the three circles (see Figure 184) to rotate the object. Hitting the key that corresponds the required axis (X, Y or Z) will hide the controls for the other axes.

Note

Orienting the object may be easier if you first specify a new position for the center of the local coordinate system: double-click on the desired surface point in the 3D View window.

Figure 184 Rotation control

Scale

To enter scaling mode, click the Scale tab or hit S. A single input field with the current scale value (1.000) will appear in the Editor panel. You have two options for scaling the object:

• Enter the new scale value in the field.

• Drag the origin of the control (Figure 185) or either of its round ends in the 3D View window.

Figure 185 Scaling control

Placing Objects on Coordinate Plane (Positioning Tool)

You may need to place the model on one of the coordinate planes (e.g., for aesthetic reasons or when preparing the model for measurements, for capturing a screenshot, for exporting and so on). Instead of adjusting the model position using the Rotate and Translate modes of the Transformation tool, you can use the special Positioning tool. To do so, follow these steps below.

Figure 186 Positioning the model in the global coordinate system.

1. Open the Editor panel from the side toolbar and click either Rough positioning button or hit P.

2. Choose the Rough tab—a rough positioning is available for all the object types, whereas the Precise option works only with CAD objects.

   See also

   Setting constraints for CAD primitives

3. Ensure that the coordinate axis grid is shown. Otherwise hit G or select the Grid command from the Scene settings.

4. Choose the coordinate plane in which you want to place the model by activating one of the following options: XOY, YOZ or ZOX. Note that you may skip this step and return to it after Step 3.

5. Use LMB to specify at least three points on the surface; the plane will automatically pass through their center of mass (see Figure 186). The following conditions will then apply:

   1. For each additional point you specify, Artec Studio rebuilds the plane. Click Clear points at any time to redefine the points.

      Note

      Three points determine a plane. When you’re dealing with nonplanar surfaces, however, three points may be insufficient. In that case, the more points you specify, the more precisely a plane will fit the surface.

   2. In addition to the plane passing through the center of mass of the points you select, the coordinate origin will shift to that location as well.

   3. The position of the coordinate origin is adjustable, as described below.

6. Invert the direction of the coordinate axis, if desired, by clicking the Invert Z button for the XOY plane, Invert X for YOZ, or Invert Y for ZOX.

7. If appropriate, adjust the model’s position relative to the coordinate origin:

   1. Shift + LMB—rotate the model around the axis that is currently normal to the plane

   2. Shift + RMB—move the model along the plane in a fixed direction

   3. Shift + LMB + RMB—move freely along the plane

8. Hit Apply to fix the model on a specified plane or close the panel to cancel positioning.

To discard changes of object position, hit Ctrl+Z.

Tip

The Enable automatic base removal option may come in useful to position scans automatically after the scanning completes (see Base Removal: Erasing a Supporting Surface.)

Note

The Positioning tool does not affect objects with the Locked object status (). See Locking Object’s Position for details.

Advanced Techniques

Automatic Processing

See also

Use Autopilot

Automatic processing is a special mode for the Tools panel that saves time and simplifies postprocessing. It allows you to run all postprocessing algorithms available in the Tools panel, such as Registration (Global, Rough serial, Fine, Photo); Outlier removal; Fusion or Fast fusion (legacy); Mesh optimization (Small-object filter or Hole filling) and Smoothing, with just a single button click.

Each algorithm setting and parameter is based on the values can be set and adjusted in the Auto mode. To change these values:

1. Toggle the Auto mode switch on.

2. Select a specific scanner type via the Preset dropdown list.

3. Using Add tool, add the new algorithm from the list to the auto mode.

4. Click the icon to open a paramaters pop-up of the added algorithms.

5. Make the necessary alterations and close the parameters pop-up.

6. Repeat the previous steps for the required algorithms.

7. Click Run button to begin automatic processing.

Changing the scanner preset type resets all the parameters to the default ones (for the selected preset).

Figure 187 Manual adjustment for the specific scanner type.

Keep in mind that the algorithms run in the order in which they are listed, starting with Registration and ending with Normal inversion. Thus, if you want to run the Smoothing before Mesh optimization, for instance, you must do so manually.

Unlike manual processing, automatic processing runs without the need for constant user attention, so it is more convenient when processing large objects: you can configure the settings, start the process and leave it unattended. It can also process objects of any size, reducing the number of mouse clicks to get the result.

Mirroring

Artec Studio allows to mirror the 3D data. The application uses the local rotation center as a mirroring center (see Global Coordinate System and Rotation Center). If it isn’t specified, Artec Studio employs the global coordinate center.

To mirror the model, follow the steps:

1. Open Editor

2. Access Transformation tool

3. Select the Mirror tab

4. If necessary, double click the model to specify a rotation center

5. Select an axis to mirror the object along. Press the respective button—for example, Along axis Y.

Figure 188 Mirroring in action.

To revert your changes, use the Reset button. For details, consult Moving, Rotating and Scaling (Transformation Tool).

Isotropic Remesh

Isotropic remesh is an operation that modifies 3D model in the way that new mesh triangles have uniform size. Software packages where the models from Artec Studio are intended to be used may impose these requirements.

The algorithm produces an isotropic mesh, but doesn’t necessarily decrease the polygon count. However, the output file is often smaller than the original one through the uniform triangles.

Figure 189 Isotropic remesh operation in action: original model on left, processed one on right.

To produce a uniform mesh,

1. Mark the model using the flag

2. Open Tools → Isotropic remesh

3. Specify the 3D resolution, mm value if necessary

4. Click Run button.

Normal Inversion

Normal direction determines the visibility of a surface in 3D graphics. Learn how to show normals of the objects in Artec Studio 3D View, see Representation of Normals and Boundaries.

Normal inversion allows one to turn the model inside out. This operation may be useful when you need to manufacture some mating parts, like molds; or obtain a model based on its cast (e.g., turn the footprint cast into a shoe last, see Figure 190).

Figure 190 Normal inversion application: obtaining a foot model (right) from its cast (left).

To invert normals on a particular model,

1. Mark the model using the flag

2. Open Tools → Normal inversion

3. Click Run button.

Correcting Triangulation Errors

Some algorithms may introduce triangulation errors into the resulting model. These errors include the following:

• Unattached vertices. Points that are not vertices of any of the triangles

• Vertices with identical coordinates. Vertices that have the same coordinates

• Faces containing invalid vertices. Triangles that point to nonexistent vertices

• Singular faces. Triangles for which at least two of the three vertices coincide.

• Faces with equal signature. Faces with fully coinciding sets of vertices

• Edges incident to three or more faces. Edges that are adjacent to three or more faces

• Faces with wrong orientation. Faces whose normals point in a direction opposite to those of the adjoining faces

To correct these errors, mark a model in the Workspace panel by using the flag and hit Ctrl+R or select the Window ‣ Repair menu command. If the algorithm detects no triangulation errors, Artec Studio will notify you that it has found no defects. Otherwise, the Repair panel will open, displaying the above-mentioned list of defects to be corrected. Next to the names of the defects, a column will appear stating the number of defects of a certain type found in the model. You can select all defects by pressing View all. Doing so will display in the model all the defective vertices and triangles using colored points. You can disable display of any particular defect type by removing the icon next to the corresponding name, or disable them all by clicking View none. To correct the defects, click Repair all. Clicking the Apply button accepts the changes.