INTERACTIVE USER GUIDE

Parametric Exchange
for the Live Transfer of Surfaces to CAD Packages
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trademarks of their owners.

Guide History

Date Revision

Aug 2009 First Release

May 2010 Updates for Geomagic Studio 12
About Geomagic Inc.
Geomagic, Inc. is a worldwide software and services company headquartered in Research Triangle Park,
North Carolina (U.S.A.), with subsidiaries in Europe and Asia and distributors worldwide. Geomagic is the
market leader in digital shape sampling and processing (DSSP) with a vision of mass customization,
technology innovation, and business performance. Geomagic software enables customers to accelerate
product development cycles and ensure quality at every step. More than 5,000 professionals use
Geomagic software and services across diverse industries including automotive, aerospace, medical, and
consumer products.

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Table of Contents

1 INTRODUCTION TO PARAMETRIC EXCHANG E 5

1.1 Guide Description 5

1.2 What is Parametric Exchange? 5

1.3 How to Use this Guide 5

1.4 Prerequisites 5

2 PARAMETRIC EXCHANGE 6

2.1 Overview of the Process 6

2.1.1 Open the Part File 6
2.1.2 Transfer the Parametric Surfaces 6

2.2 Deviation Analysis 10

3 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 11

3.1 Interactive User Guides 11

3.2 Knowledge Base 11

1 INTRODUCTION TO PARAMETRIC EXCHANGE

1.1 Guide Description

This Guide encourages the user to integrate Geomagic Studio into routine engineering
processes by demonstrating the ease of sharing parametric elements between Geomagic
Studio 12 and a CAD package. The steps presented here are fully user-reproducible.

This Guide requires the reader to have working knowledge of Geomagic Studio and one of
the compatible CAD applications.

1.2 What is Parametric Exchange?

The Parametric Exchange command is a free add-on for Geomagic Studio 12. It requires a
package-specific plugin and runs in association with any of the following CAD packages:
CATIA, Inventor, Pro/E Wildfire, or SolidWorks.

Parametric Exchange offers an intelligent connection between Geomagic Studio and a

compatible CAD package to enable automatic native reconstruction of geometry from scan
data. The feature reduces product engineering time by enabling seamless transfer of para-
metric surfaces, solids, features, and curves from Geomagic Studio to the CAD application
without the need for intermediate files such as IGES or STEP.

For details on how to use the Parametric Exchange dialog, hover the mouse over the
Parametric Exchange icon under the Parametric Surfaces tab and press F1 to launch the help
file within the application.

1.3 How to Use This Guide

The instructions in this document refer to data files that can be downloaded from the same
web page on which you found the Guide. Download the zip file to a directory of your choice,
double-click it to extract the file PX12-Guide-Fitting.wrp, and start Geomagic Studio 12.

1.4 Prerequisites

This Guide requires Geomagic Studio 12 with the Capture, Wrap, and Parametric Surfacing
module licenses, plus one of the compatible CAD systems.
2 REVERSE ENGINEERING BY PARAMETRIC EXCHANGE

2.1 Overview of the Process

Starting with an aircraft part that has already been scanned, its design intent detected and its
optimized surfaces generated (using the Parametric Surfaces Phase of Geomagic Studio), the
object of this game is:
1. to transfer the Parametric Surfaces to a CAD system (using the Parametric Exchange
command of Geomagic Studio),
2. to transfer the reverse-engineered CAD object back to Geomagic Studio for the purpose
of proving that the reverse-engineered part is true to the original polygon object (again
using the Parametric Exchange command of Geomagic Studio).

2.1.1 Open the Part File

Step 1. Open PX12-Guide-Fitting.wrp in Geomagic Studio 12. This object, which represents
an aircraft fitting, is a cleaned-up Polygon object on which Parametric Surfaces have already
been fitted. Expand the model in the Model Manager by clicking the “+” sign. The surfaces
that are to be transferred via Parametric Exchange are listed. The Surfaces have been
renamed to reflect where they are on the model.

2.1.2 Transfer the Parametric Surfaces

Step 1. While the Parametric Surfaces object is highlighted in the Model Manager, navigate
to the Parametric Surfaces tab and click on Parametric Exchange.

Under Exchange Options, select the name of the CAD Package (in this Guide, we are using
SolidWorks 2010).
Step 2. Parametric Exchange can use CAD-like actions when sending surfaces over to CAD
packages. Think of it as creating a solid model with one of the surfaces and then using the
other surfaces to cut into model to recreate your part in CAD.

Highlight the Base Extrusion in the Graphics Area.

Notice that Base Extrusion appears under Entity Table in the Parametric Exchange dialog.
Select to create the entity as a Solid and as the Create Operation.

Note: The Operation types will be different depending on what CAD package is being used for
Parametric Exchange to reflect the action names specific to that CAD package. For example,
Join for SolidWorks is Add for CATIA.

Step 3. Click Send. The block will appear in SolidWorks like in the picture below. The new
object appear in the CAD application’s Model Tree.
Extrude the base in the +Y direction to approximately 60”. This is so that we can use
Parametric Exchange to cut into the block with the other model entities. Beware of making
the block too large or the other model entities will not be large enough to cut through the
block completely.

Step 4. In Studio, press CTRL+C to clear the selection of the base. Then, highlight Base Plane,
Extrusion - Right Side, Mid Extrusion, and Extrusion - Left Side in the Graphics Area.

Select to send the Create as Surfaces and to Cut from the model.
Click Send. The four entities have cut away from the model.

Step 5. Repeat the Cut Operation in Step 4 for Arc Extrusion 1 and Arc Extrusion 2.

Step 6. Send the remaining four slot and 2 cylinder entitles to Solidworks. Create them as
Solids and choose to Subtract them from the existing model in CAD.
The completed parametric model now exists in SolidWorks.

2.2 Deviation Analysis

Deviation Analysis displays the graphical comparison of the remote CAD entities to local
objects.

Step 1. In the Parametric Exchange dialog of Geomagic Studio (Parametric Surfaces tab >
Parametric Exchange), click the Deviation Analysis button. Geomagic Studio immediately
transfers the engineered part back from the CAD system, compares the original Parametric
Surfaces to the newly engineered CAD object, and presents a colored-coded mapping of the
deviations between the CAD object and the original polygon data.

Step 2. The deviations in this example do not necessarily indicate a problem. In this case, the
reverse-engineered part is even better than the original because it was developed with the
precision of a parametric design process.
If the difference is unacceptable, perform additional work on the part in the CAD system and
press Deviation Analysis again. When the results are acceptable, click OK to exit the dialog.
3 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

3.1 Interactive User Guides

Other interactive user guides are available on the Geomagic Support Center website:
Four Basic Workflows for Geomagic Studio and Basic Workflow for Geomagic Qualify.
The guides provide step-by-step instructions and sample data files that can be loaded into the
software.

In addition to the user guides, self-paced training and product demos are also available.

3.2 Knowledgebase

A knowledgebase with tips, tricks, and troubleshooting help is available in the

Support Center of the Geomagic web site.