A 3-D point sets registration method in reverse engineering

When acquiring the surface data of the sample part, it is not easy to get the full data on one scan due to the configuration or topology of the part. In addition, some special parts have special assembly request, for example the joint surface smooth and the boundary share. The process usually requires multiple scans for an assembly model. Some identical points have different coordinate data because of the moving of the part. As a result, before the model reconstruction the digitized data must be registered or aligned. According to the geometric graphics transform theory, this work develops a digitized point sets registration method, which is based on the coordinate transform. The method utilizes measured three datumpoint data in different coordinate systems to calculate the rotation and translation matrix. If the measurement error cannot be ignored, the least-square method may be applied to find the closest points. Finally, this method is adopted to the clay model of the motorcycle surface in reverse engineering, the data registration meets the design precision. 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.