Abstract
This paper presents a brief review and technical advancement on 3D shape engineering and design parameterization in reverse engineering, in which discrete point clouds are converted into feature-based parametric solid models. Numerous efforts have been devoted to developing technology that automatically creates NURBS surface models from point clouds. Only very recently, the development was extended to support parametric solid modeling that allows significant expansion on the scope of engineering assignments. In this paper, underlying technology that enables such advancement in 3D shape engineering and design parameterization is presented. Software that offers such capabilities is evaluated using practical examples. Observations are presented to conclude this study.