Mesh Import

Hi Jeff — I’m actually working on tutorial videos now, and they’ll start getting posted regularly in the coming weeks!

In the meantime, here’s how to bring a 3D scan into JetCad3:

1. In your scanner software, generate a triangle mesh from the point cloud and export it as STL, OBJ, or meshed PLY. A points-only PLY is not currently supported.
2. Open the Drafting workspace.
3. In the Browser, right-click the component where you want the scan and choose Import Scan Reference…
4. Select your mesh file. If you’re using OBJ with materials or textures, select those companion files at the same time.
5. Confirm the scan’s source units and up axis, then click Inspect Mesh.
6. Check the dimensions and any import warnings, then click Add Reference.

Once imported, right-click the scan in the Browser to access the preparation and analysis tools. You can isolate regions, clean up the mesh, fit geometry such as planes and cylinders, and extract cross-sections to help rebuild the part.

For the mesh-to-CAD stage, the scan remains your measured reference while you create editable sketches, features, surfaces, and solid bodies from it. Importing alone doesn’t automatically turn the mesh into a parametric solid. You can then compare the rebuilt model against the scan to check how closely it matches.

The 3D Scan Reverse Engineering guide walks through these tools and how they fit together. The full Learn section also covers the individual Drafting and modeling tools.

Let me know which scanner and export format you’re using, and what sort of part you’re working with—I’d be happy to help you get started.