Backflip has announced a new AI foundation model that automatically creates parametric CAD from 3D scans – with a plug-in for Solidworks and a web app available, taking seconds to transfer scan data into editable CAD that can be used in design workflows.
“3D scanners map the surface of an object with incredible precision, quickly generating millions of data points, but they produce micro surface textures that can’t be manufactured with traditional tools. Our technology automatically converts these intricate surfaces into clean geometries designed for existing 3D CAD and manufacturing software,” said Backflip CEO Greg Mark.
Backflip’s Solidworks plug-in shows each step in the process used to build a part’s geometry and generates a native feature history that users can modify. This lets designers to fine tune the generated 3D model. For new users, walking through the design process helps them understand how the part was created, flattening the learning curve for designing in 3D and bringing more people into 3D CAD programs like Solidworks.
The new AI model was trained on Backflip’s synthetic 3D data set of over 100 million unique 3D geometries, which it claims as the world’s largest and which continues to grow at an accelerating pace.
Backflip Head of AI Logan Ford, added: “These new developments are the result of Backflip’s continued R&D investments in neural representation of 3D data. We’ve paired state-of-the-art AI/ML techniques with the team’s deep background in manufacturing to create a really powerful technology foundation.
Our additional focus on resource-efficiency enables us to advance rapidly, and yields 60x more efficient training, 10x faster inference and 100x the spatial resolution of existing leading methods.”
Backflip says that its two new tools will be available to interested users soon. DEVELOP3D readers can sign-up for the 3D scan-to-CAD waitlist here.
Backflip hopes that the new technology will help in industries like manufacturing, where broken parts on production and assembly lines can cause expensive, lengthy downtime. Backflip’s executives suggest that its new technology helps manufacturing teams compress the time from broken parts to digital 3D models without need to remodel a part that is literally in front of them, helping them to manufacture a new part quickly and without using the time of a CAD designer.
