October 17, 2020
A GUIDE TO 3D LASER SCANNING AND 3D FACE SCANNING
Laser Scanning also known as Reality Capture or High Definition Surveying is a technology of surveying that can accurately measure and collect data from objects, surfaces, buildings, and landscapes.
What is Laser Scanning?
Laser Scanning also known as Reality Capture or High-Definition Surveying is a technology of surveying that can accurately measure and collect data from objects, surfaces, buildings, and landscapes.
It uses lasers to capture 3D spatial data in the form of a point cloud for 3D Printing online. It is used to develop 3D models of building elevations, floor plans, tunnel profiling and motorway/ rail bridges as well as mapping topography.
How does Laser Scanning work?
- At first, Laser scanners gather information in the form of point cloud data, which consists of millions of 3D coordinates (XYZ coordinates).
- Then the scanners throw out a beam of light which is rotated 270 degrees vertically and 360 degrees horizontally.
- When Light touches any surface and is reflected, it is recorded as a data point. Later this data point is assigned a colour and surface reflectivity.
- One capture can record up to the hundreds of millions of these points which when combined create what is referred to as a point cloud.
- On processing these point clouds, a digital representation of the scanned surfaces is formed, demonstrating the dimensions and spatial relationships of topographic features and structures used in 3D Printing service.
- After scanning, multiple laser scans are overlaid and positioned so each is registered into a single point cloud model.
- Every registered point is accompanied by an intensity value (or colour value).
- This value is based on the strength of the reflected signal.
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What are the types of Laser Scanners?
There are three types of laser scanners – Phase Shift, Time of Flight & Triangulation mainly used in online 3D Printing India: –
- Phase Shift Laser Scanner
This type of scanner determines the distance to the object by the phase shift between the outgoing and returning signal.
This scanner is faster and more accurate than a time of flight and can scan distances up to 300 m.
These scanners are used on a range of cultural heritage, archaeology, architecture, and civil engineering projects with 3D Printing Bangalore as they are more versatile than others.
- Time of Flight Laser Scanner
This type of scanner calculates the distance to the object based on the time taken for the signal to return.
It is slower than the phase shift scanner but can scan longer distances (up to 2km).
Usually, these are only used on a project by 3D Printing companies where the distance is too great for the phase shift laser scanner.
- Triangulation
Triangulation is used for short range scans (0.5-2m) and can collect data to micron level accuracy. These scanners scan the detailed features of an object for 3D Printing in India.
What are the advantages of Laser Scanners?
- Laser scanners can collect thousands of data points in seconds.
- They reduce the time and human resources needed to complete surveys.
- For projects that require information from vast landscapes or extensive networks of roads or railroads, laser scanners can be mounted onto land-based or aerial vehicles.
- Better accuracy compared with traditional methods.
- Laser scanning provides the ability to generate realistic fly-through visualisations with online 3D Printing services. These enable greater analysis options.
- The scans are available as fully workable 3D model
What are the applications of Laser Scanning?
Laser scanning is employed by many high-value, government-backed, and privately funded projects such as national defence, and road surveying and 3D Printing companies.
Some other common applications are listed below:
- Spatial Scanning
Laser scanners take less time in plotting and spatial scanning. They also improve the planning process. Laser scanning helps in minimizing the errors during the data collection.
And for all these values, researchers utilize them for mobile mapping, surveying, scanning buildings and their interiors.
- Road Surveying and Traffic Construction Analysis
Analysis for construction of traffic areas is difficult as it is not possible to stop traffic for too long to gather information about existing roads.
But with the help of Laser scanners this work of road surveys and traffic construction analysis is turned from weeks to just a matter of hours with 3D Printing companies in Bangalore.
- Urban Topography
Urban topography is a sort of town planning. It is an interdisciplinary study of towns – their forms, layouts, architectural history, geography, etc.
Laser scanners help to collect and process the regular, accurate data before beginning development work.
Laser scanning is a boon for civil surveying, reverse engineering, mining, and archaeological projects with online 3D Printing services. It helps to achieve faster results with 100% accuracy.
- Architectural / heritage buildings (historical preservation)
- Plant & facility management for oil, gas, refineries & pipelines
- Infrastructure of roads, rail, bridges & tunnels
- BIM (building information modelling)
- 3D Face Scanning
What is 3D Face Scanning?
It is the process of utilizing the technique of Laser scanning to scan an entire human head, including the face.
What are the ways you can 3D scan your face?
Some common ways to scan your face, depending on the recording instrument used are: –
- Smartphone: Simply download an app and start scanning!
- Xbox Kinect: use a Kinect, from the Xbox 360 or the Xbox One, to perform 3D scanning.
- USB-powered webcam or camera: you’ll additionally need a PC or laptop.
- 3D scanner: There’s a large variety of 3D scanners out there varying according to the needs of users.
How to 3D scan your face with a smartphone?
- Start by scanning the face from ear to ear by walking around the person at a distance of 30 to 50 cm.
- But the person being 3D scanned should stand still, and maintain the same face expression during the procedure.
- Make sure to capture different angles of the face, to avoid missing any edges of the face.
- Maintaining equal distance while scanning the image is very important.
- 3D scanning of stringy objects is difficult and so the hairs of the person may not be represented in the best way.
- To get the best results, place the person being scanned in a background that is of only one bright colour. This enables the depth sensors of the camera to differentiate the head from its background.
3D Scanning apps for smartphone
Have you ever wanted to turn that action figure you have on your desktop or that souvenir you got from a trip into a 3D model on your computer? A few years ago, the only way you could do that was to use some sophisticated 3D scanner that either uses lasers, complex optics, or an articulating arm to measure the dimensions of any real object and transform them into point clouds. Nowadays, all of those complex operations can be done through your smartphone thanks to 3D Printing services in India.
What to consider in a 3D scanning app?
- Operating system
The Apple community seems to have more users and developers that are more interested in 3D technologies and 3D Printing companies, resulting in quite a lot of Apple-exclusive 3D scanning apps. This does not mean that Android users will be excluded from the fun. If you’re a loyal Android user, we’ve got a couple of cool stuff for you as well.
- Price
This might come as a disappointment to you, but you’re going to be really hard-pressed to find a 3D scanning app that you can use for free, especially if you’re looking for ones that produce good results. The good news is that these 3D scanning apps cost just about as much as any standard app on the marketplace. You can download a good app for the cost of a sandwich or a small cup of coffee, which is not a bad trade-off in our opinion.
- Ease of use
Depending on where you intend to use the models that you generate for 3D Printing online, you might not want to spend too much time learning the app. A hallmark of a well-developed app is that it should only take a few minutes for a new user to get a good grasp of how it works.
- Quality of results
Of course, there’s no point using a 3D scanning app that produces an inaccurate model or one that doesn’t look good. It doesn’t matter if an app is cheap or if it’s hard to use. At the end of the day, what matters most is that the work we put in is translated into high-quality results.
3D Scanning and 3D Printing for reverse engineering
Reverse engineering is a powerful way to create digital designs from a physical part, and can be a valuable tool in your prototyping toolkit alongside technologies like 3D scanning and 3D printing in India.
3D scanners measure complex objects very quickly, and can speed up your design workflow tremendously when real-life references are involved. With the ability to capture and modify physical shapes, you can design 3D printed parts that fit perfectly on existing products of all kinds. 3D printed jigs allow you to repeatedly locate a drill or saw, or assemble parts precisely with adhesive. Create close-fitting, reusable masks for sandblasting, painting, or etching.