Compatibility guide · scanners and plotters
Will it work with your scanner and plotter?
If your scanner exports a mesh and your plotter imports a vector file, yes. Below: the equipment we have actually tested, the equipment that is only compatible on paper, and a checker for your own setup.
Our studio
- Einstar Rockit tested
- PPF Engine STL · OBJ · PLY in, SVG · DXF · PLT out
- Graphtec FC9000 tested
One real scan · 429,592 faces · cut line traced on the surface · facts checked
01 Check your setup
Pick what is in your shop.
A setup is only as good as its weakest link, so the answer is the lower of the two tiers.
Result
Tested
This is exactly what we run. Tested end to end in our own studio.
- Einstar Rockit
- This is the scanner in our own studio. Its scans were flattened, cut and installed.
- Graphtec FC9000
- This is the plotter in our own studio. Export is developed against it and cut on it in production.
02 Three tiers
Tested is not the same as compatible.
Most software pages blur these. We would rather you know exactly which one you are relying on.
01
Tested in our studio
We own it and cut installed film from it.
Scanner: Shining 3D Einstar Rockit. Plotter: Graphtec FC9000. Scans from one were flattened, and the exported files were cut on the other and installed on customer vehicles.
02
File-compatible
The format matches. We have not run the device.
Any scanner whose software exports an STL, OBJ or PLY mesh. Any cutter or cutting software that imports SVG, DXF or PLT (HP-GL): Graphtec, Summa, Roland, Mimaki and others. We say which tier you are in when you ask.
03
Not supported
Does not fit the workflow today.
Photo-only capture with no metric scale, raw point clouds that have not been meshed, and cutters locked to a closed pattern subscription with no file import.
03 Scanners
An Einstar Rockit is a good starting point.
That is the handheld in our own studio, in the entry-level price class. If your scanner is in that class or better, the scan side of the workflow should not hold you back. What matters more than the badge:
A
It exports a surface mesh
STL, OBJ or PLY. That is the only hard requirement.
B
It holds edges and small features
Sensor bezels, washer jets and character lines decide the fit. A scanner that smooths them away gives you a clean mesh and a wrong pattern.
C
It covers a full panel in one session
A front bumper can flatten to more than 2.5 metres wide. Tracking that survives dark, glossy paint saves more time than resolution you will never use.
Higher-end structured-light and laser scanners make capture and cleanup faster. They are not required to make a pattern that fits. PPF Engine has no scanner partnership and earns nothing from which one you buy.
04 Plotters
A file your cutter already understands.
Full scale in millimetres, with a 100 mm reference line so you can verify scale on the first cut.
- .svgIllustrator, CorelDRAW, Inkscape and most plotter front ends
- .dxfCutting and CAD software, pieces and marks on their own layers
- .pltHP-GL straight to Graphtec-class cutters
The only question is whether the software that drives your cutter opens one of those three. Almost all of them do. A cutter that only accepts one vendor’s pattern subscription, with no import, cannot receive outside files from anyone.
05 Everything else
What else you need.
- Computer
- A Windows and macOS desktop app. Scans and patterns stay on your machine. Minimum specifications will be confirmed before delivery.
- Learning effort
- No CAD experience needed, but you do need to know PPF: where a seam can hide, how far an edge wraps, what your film tolerates. Expect your first panels to take longer than your tenth.
- Physical test fit
- Always. Cut a test piece, check it on the car, correct the pattern, then cut production film.
- Availability
- In use in our studio, not yet released for download. Presale access begins at delivery.
Next: how a scan becomes a pattern, or PPF Engine vs ExactFlat.
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.
Refundable in full until your access begins. One email, no questions. Access begins at delivery (estimated December 2026). Your 12 months start then.