Rhinoceros
What you want/need to know about reverse engineering?
A 3D Scan of an object using a laser scanner produces a collection of points with a certain density (which depends on the used equipment). This collection of points is usually called a Point Cloud. In order to be able to use these data, the points have to be interconnected, and form a triangle mesh. This step is mostly done by dedicated scan software. The mesh can be further processed within Rhino 4. This process involves mesh repair, mesh correction.
In order to manipulate and correct measurements, the mesh has to be turned into a NURBS model. The easiest way to do that is by using a plugin, which automates certain Rhino routines. The created model can then be printed or milled.
This sequence from scan to fab is called reverse engineering.
