What is a Golden Mesh (Average Mesh)?
Have you ever wondered what to do when you have no nominal file but have many different scan data sets of the same part? Or what to do when you've made so many adjustments to your nominal good part that it's no longer reflected in your nominal file, but you still need something to check against? The golden mesh, or average mesh, can help. The golden mesh inside GOM Software creates a file to inspect against other files and can be exported out as an STL file.
How to use the Golden Mesh Inside GOM Software
Begin by opening GOM Software. This example uses a GOM training block. There is a timeline on the bottom of the screen within the project, which contains five blocks that slightly change when you cycle through them. The goal is to find the average between all five blocks to determine the average mesh to be sent to a 3D printer. The average mesh can also be used with modeling software.
As always, the first step in GOM Software is to perform an initial alignment. First, set up a prealignment by navigating to the quick alignment tool that looks like a plus sign with a drop-down arrow located in the top right corner. Left-click on it and select the prealignment option. The software suggests this option intuitively because there is nothing to compare or align to. Rather, the alignment for the golden mesh is being set.
Perform the Golden Mesh Function
Next, find the function to create the golden mesh by navigating to Operations, CAD, and Create Golden Mesh. Then, the software computes an average mesh. The software can also find the best mesh out of your run for use in inspection, modeling, reverse engineering, and more.
Hit create and close, finalizing the average mesh as indicated with blue coloring in the conical areas. Cycling through the stages at the bottom of the screen displays the actual data in gray, the average mesh in blue, and how they're lying on top of one another. At this point, however, the alignment still appears broken in the top right corner because GOM Software is storing the average mesh in the clipboard. Bring the average mesh from the clipboard into the part by selecting it, holding down the left click button, and giving the mouse a little jiggle, releasing onto the option "Add to my part." Since the average mesh represents the average of all five meshes, the software labels and treats it as a CAD model that can be used for comparison during various inspections within GOM Software.
Recalculate the Project
However, at this point, the project needs to be recalculated. Begin by clicking the recalculate icon on the toolbar. You will then see the software recalculating at the bottom of the screen. Then, cycle through the stages at the bottom of the screen to display the slight changes to the conical areas. To better visualize the recalculation, apply a color map by navigating to the top and selecting "Surface Comparison on CAD." Since GOM Software treats this file as a CAD file, as indicated on the part, select "Okay" in the appearing dialog box.
Next, to make the color map uniform across all stages, navigate to the legend, click to open the text box, input .05, and hit the link button. Then, hit the E key for "Exclusive," and the color map will appear. Next, recalculate the project. Currently, the software is showing the actual data from run one as compared to the average mesh. Cycling through the stages at the bottom of the screen displays the average mesh compared to run two, run three, run four, and run five.
Removing the Average Mesh
If you don't want to use the average mesh for comparisons anymore and would rather compare it to a specific stage, right-click the desired stage, select "Manage Stages," hit "Set Reference Stage," and then hit close. From there, everything is compared to the reference stage instead of the average mesh. To go back to the average mesh, remove the reference by right-clicking again, select "Manage Stages," and click the icon to remove it as a reference stage.
Exporting the Average Mesh
The average mesh can be treated as a CAD model within GOM Software, and it can be exported like a mesh file by clicking File, then Export, then Mesh, and then STL. Then, within the Export STL dialog box, select the average mesh for the STL file field, indicate the unit you want it exported in for use with a CNC machine, a 3D printer, in modeling, reverse engineering, or anything else that requires an average mesh.
Learn More about GOM Software
GOM Software is full of useful functions like the golden mesh. These features are engineered to expand your digital engineering capabilities and ensure you get the most out of each inspection. If you would like to learn more about ATOS blue light 3D scanners and GOM Software and understand how this technology benefits your specific application, contact a Capture 3D Team member today.