Dimensional metrology and reverse engineering 3D Laser Scanning for Reverse Engineering: How to Build a Measurement-Ready Workflow A dense point cloud can look convincing and still be unsuitable for a dimensional decision. The real challenge in reverse engineering is not collecting millions of points. It is controlling the measurement chain from the physical part to the final CAD model. 3D laser scanning is widely used when a physical component has to be recreated, compared with design intent, modified, documented or reproduced. The attraction is obvious. A scanner can capture complex freeform geometry far faster than traditional point-by-point measurement. But reverse engineering creates a measurement problem that is easy to underestimate. A scan is not automatically a traceable representation of the part. Scanner performance, surface behaviour, working distance, viewing angle, registration, reference artefacts, software processing and the way the CAD model is reconstructed ca...