3D Scan requirements Full Body

3D Scanning Briefing – Complete Vehicle Chassis

Purpose

Complete 3D scan of a bare vehicle chassis to be used as a reference for reverse engineering and the development of a new vehicle body.

The priority is accurate overall geometry and reliable mounting point references.

Technical Specs of Scan

• Scanning technology: Preferably blue laser or blue/white structured light (no infrared).

• Scan resolution / point spacing: Preferably 0.3–1.0 mm, depending on the scanning equipment.

• Overall dimensional accuracy: Target ≤(0.5 mm + 0.2 mm/m) across the complete vehicle, including alignment and stitching of multiple scans. Higher local accuracy at mounting points is preferred where possible.

• Critical mounting points: Higher detail where practical.

What to Scan

Bare Chassis – Essential

• Complete chassis, including front, rear, sides, wheel arches and accessible underside.

• Multiple scanning positions with sufficient overlap for reliable alignment.

• Fully registered and stitched mesh, without floating or misaligned overlapping parts.

• Include visible brackets, mounting points, structural elements and body attachment locations.

• Capture front and rear suspension mounting areas and wheel centre references where available.

Separate Parts – If Required

• Front and rear body components must also be scanned individually, with particular attention to mounting points, connection surfaces and attachment geometry.
  When scanning detached bumper or body panels, ensure they are properly supported in their natural, unstressed shape to prevent bending, twisting or deformation.
  Preferably maintain the same coordinate system as the complete vehicle scan, where practical.

Reference Geometry – Important

• Preferably align the vehicle to a longitudinal centreline and central reference plane.

• No artificial symmetry corrections to the actual scanned geometry.

Mesh Delivery

Essential

• One complete, properly registered and stitched mesh.

• Optimized CAD mesh in STL or OBJ format, preferably 10 – 20 million triangles.
  Seperate components or body parts preferably 1 – 5 million triangles.

• Suitable for further processing in QuickSurface and Autodesk Inventor.

• Units in millimetres.

• No significant loss of relevant geometric details or mounting points.

• Indicate significant missing or inaccessible scan areas.

Preferred

• High-resolution mesh at the original available resolution, without a specific triangle limit.

• Original RAW scan data / scan project files, if available.

• All delivered files in a shared XYZ coordinate system.

• Approximate alignment with the vehicle centreline and reference plane.

• Avoid excessive smoothing or automatic hole filling that changes actual geometry.

Optional

• Individual scan sections (front, centre, rear and underside) with a shared origin.

• Separate high-resolution scans of critical mounting points.

• Additional mesh optimization for easier CAD handling.

General Requirements

These specifications are intended as practical guidelines, not strict acceptance criteria.

The scanning company may use its standard scanning and processing workflow, provided the resulting data is suitable for reverse engineering and body development.

Please advise if any requested specifications or deliverables would significantly increase scanning time, processing effort or cost.

Main priority: A complete, dimensionally reliable and correctly aligned vehicle scan, with sufficient detail for designing and positioning a new body and its mounting points.

Example of a low res version of a scan

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Interactive 3D model: CAR Model_1M.stl. View it online at https://app.tornante.studio/knowledge/3d-scan-requirements-full-body

If you have any questions, please reach out to us and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.