PPF Engine Pattern engineering PresaleSave 50%
The cut file PPF Engine exported for a scanned Mercedes-AMG GT front bumper: one continuous chartreuse outline, ready for the plotter.

Comparison · 3D-to-2D pattern software

PPF Engine vs ExactFlat for PPF patterns

Both turn a 3D surface into a flat cutting pattern. ExactFlat is a mature, general flattening tool that lives inside Rhino. PPF Engine is a new, standalone app built only for PPF installers. Here is how they differ, including where ExactFlat is the better choice.

ExactFlat

  1. 3D scan
  2. Rhino 3D own licence
  3. ExactFlat plugin
  4. Cutter DXF

PPF Engine

  1. 3D scan STL · OBJ · PLY
  2. PPF Engine
  3. Cutter SVG · DXF · PLT

PPF Engine export · one scanned bumper · 775 Bézier segments · unedited draft · facts checked

01 The short version

Which one fits your shop?

These are different tools for different shops. An honest answer saves you a purchase you regret.

Look here if

ExactFlat

  • You need software this month
  • You already work in Rhino, or have someone comfortable in CAD
  • You pattern more than film: upholstery, covers, composites

Look here if

PPF Engine

  • You are a PPF installer without a CAD background
  • You want seams, reliefs, edge wraps and sensor cutouts handled as PPF decisions
  • You can wait for delivery, or want to see a demo first

02 Side by side

The facts, line by line.

ExactFlat for Rhino

USD 6,995

Full seat, as listed by a US reseller on the date above. Rhino is licensed separately. Confirm current pricing with ExactFlat or a reseller.

PPF Engine

$900first year, presale

Renewal locked at $900 per year. Public launch price $1,800 per year. Refundable until your access begins.

Topic ExactFlat PPF Engine
Built for
General 3D-to-2D pattern making: upholstery, marine, apparel, composites, automotive trim. Paint protection film is one listed use.
One job: PPF patterns made by installers from their own vehicle scans.
How it runs
A plugin inside Rhino 3D, a general CAD program with its own licence.
A standalone Windows and macOS desktop app. No CAD program underneath.
Input
File formats Rhino can open, including scan meshes.
STL, OBJ or PLY scan meshes.
Output
DXF for cutters and 2D CAD packages.
SVG, DXF and PLT (HP-GL), full scale in millimetres.
PPF-specific tools
Seams, notches, grain lines and strain analysis for fabric and film in general. Cut-line design relies on Rhino’s CAD tools.
Coverage and seam planning on the panel, relief cuts, edge-wrap offsets, measured sensor cutouts, stretch checks against the film’s limit, pre-flight before export.
Availability
Shipping today, with training and a paid scan-to-pattern service.
Not released yet. In use in our own studio. Presale delivery is estimated December 2026.

03 Credit where due

Where each one is stronger.

We studied ExactFlat’s public demonstrations closely while building PPF Engine. We have not run a licensed copy, so the left column is our reading of what ExactFlat shows publicly.

ExactFlat

  1. It exists today

    You can buy it, get trained and cut this month.

  2. A very clear flattening loop

    Flatten, click the fold, optimise, add the stretch you want, optimise again. Easy to follow.

  3. Target stretch is part of the solve

    The stretch you ask for feeds back into the flattening optimisation. PPF Engine keeps the neutral flatten and applies installer compensation as a separate, reversible, measured step. Easier to audit, but ExactFlat’s approach redistributes strain more fully on deep compound panels.

  4. Rhino’s curve tools

    If you know Rhino, you have a complete CAD environment for drawing and editing cut lines.

PPF Engine

  1. A pattern is a design, not a flattened mesh

    The flattened surface, the cut line you design, edge wraps and relief cuts are separate things you edit separately. That matters around noisy scan edges and panel returns.

  2. Stretch is judged against the film

    Checks report where film has to stretch past its working limit and where excess film would be trapped, before anything is cut.

  3. Openings are measured

    A parking sensor is detected from its bezel on the scan, confirmed by you, and cut with a margin you set.

  4. No CAD program to learn or license

    One app, from scan to plotter file.

  5. Installers only

    Licences are not sold to film manufacturers, and your scans and patterns stay on your machine.

Neither tool removes the physical test fit. Whatever you flatten with, cut a test piece and check it on the car before production film.

04 Sources

Where the ExactFlat facts come from.

ExactFlat is a trademark of its owner. PPF Engine is not affiliated with ExactFlat. If anything here is out of date or wrong, email hello@ppfengine.com and we will correct it.

Related: scanner and plotter compatibility and how a scan becomes a pattern.

Next step

See it run on a job like yours.

Tell us the vehicle or panel your pattern library does not cover, and what you scan and cut with. You see the real software run on a job like yours before you decide anything.

Request a workflow demo Pre-order & lock $900/yr

Refundable in full until your access begins. One email, no questions. Access begins at delivery (estimated December 2026). Your 12 months start then.

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