Purpose: This paper describes the first step of a project that aims to improve the design and placement of dental prostheses through an in-depth analysis of jaw movement. This analysis requires prior obtaining quality digital models of all elements involved in the movement. The paper describes the process to obtain the digital models through Reverse Engineering techniques, and evaluates their quality. Design/methodology/approach: The process of digitalization of a human skull by means of a hand-held 3D laser scanner has been evaluated to see the suitability of this technique. A skull has been chosen as test element as it has several characteristics that make its digitisation by optical techniques difficult, such as a non-uniform surface and a complex geometry. The surfaces obtained by the scanner have been edited by point cloud edition software. Findings: Reverse Engineering optical hardware has several limitations to correctly digitize complex geometries, but these deficiencies can be solved using the Reverse Engineering software properly. Research limitations/implications: The same analysis should be performed by point clouds obtained through other Reverse Engineering technologies, such as structured light scanners. These technologies can achieve best values of accuracy and resolution, so that both results should be compared. Practical implications: This paper gives the chance to apply Reverse Engineering techniques to achieve high quality digital models of free form complex geometries. The constraints presented by optical digitization technologies can be solved through powerful point cloud edition software. Originality/value: This paper describes the process of digitalization of complex free form geometries and the subsequent point cloud edition.
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