Automatic CNC Program Generation From Range Data

In this paper we report on a successful cooperation of three institutes in the areas of applied image analysis for dentistry. In the application, range images recorded with a high{precision laser sensor are the input to image analysis. Surface patches of varying size and type are tted to the data (Sect. 2). Various views from known positions are used to fuse the computed patches to complete 3D model with the accuracy required for medical applications. The result of the computation is put in a common CAD format suited for automatic manufacturing of ceramic tooth inlays. The system has also been applied to other technical objects, as we show by an example.