September 16, 2021
The technology of 3D Scanning and its applications
Interest in 3D scanning technologies in 3D Printing services has grown over the last few years. Read full blog to know more about 3D scanning
Interest in 3D scanning technologies in 3D Printing services has grown over the last few years. This is due in part to advances in technology that have allowed scanners to become smaller, more portable and more powerful, as well as the increasing range of different applications envisaged across multiple industries of 3D Printing in India.
A variety of 3D scanners is available, which utilise either laser technology or structured light to create a 3D file of a target object for your 3D Printing companies. Certain scanners are better suited to particular applications.
For example, some scanners are ideal for digitising small objects at a short range, while others are better suited for digitising large objects at a mid-to-long range. Scanners of 3D Printing services in India vary in resolution and accuracy, and may use their own proprietary software and file types or may involve formats that are more freely interchangeable with industry-standard computer aided design (CAD) programs.
Most 3D scanners of 3D Printing online are laser-based and use a process called ‘trigonometric’ triangulation. This involves two or more lasers being shone at a point on an object, after which the angles of the reflected beams are recorded by one or more sensors.
When repeated across millions of points, the distances between the scanner and these points on the object and the directions of the beams as they bounce back build up into a 3D map of the surface of a scanned object. Once the 3D scan is complete, it can be assessed and measurements such as distance, volume area and angle can be taken from it.
There are several advantages to the use of 3D scanners in 3D Printing services in India over other measurement tools. Because they use lasers rather than visible light, 3D scanners easily handle objects with shiny or dark surfaces that might otherwise be difficult to illuminate and digitise.
Digitising an object in three dimensions no longer requires the use of a large machine fixed to a single laboratory or workshop location – many 3D scanners of affordable 3D Printing services are hand-held or otherwise portable.
3D laser scanners are less sensitive to fluctuations or extremes in light levels than other optical measurement tools. Scanning equipment is usually quick and simple to use, and has a low running cost offering affordable 3D Printing services.
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3D Scanning for Businesses
We’ve covered a few of the businesses that can benefit from the 3D scanning systems, but let us get a little more specific:
Individuals who work in design-based businesses always go through this phase of conceptualization and idea generation. Typically done with clay lead or foam lead, 3D scanning takes conceptualizing to a new level. The scanners can be applied during the idea generation phase by digitizing objects and then using them to interpret and enhance concept diagrams of online 3D Printing.
As mentioned, 3D scanning can be applied at the beginning of the design phase of online 3D Printing services by using a physical object to design a CAD (computer aided design) model. Designers usually need to design around or fit a design to existing objects. You can scan these parts and incorporate them into the design. This results in parts that consistently fit with your 3D Printing in India.
3D model scanning systems can benefit the actual design process in the following ways:
- It increases the effectiveness of working with complex parts and shapes of 3D Printing online.
- It assists with the design of products to accommodate other parts.
- If CAD models are outdated, a 3D scan will provide an updated version.
- 3D scanners quickly capture all physical measurements of any object.
- A 3D scanner ensures that the parts fit together on the first try.
- You can capture engineering optimizations inherent in manufactured parts with 3D scanning.
- Scanners of online 3D Printing India utilize modern manufacturing on parts that were manufactured before CAD existed.
- Allows for a comparison between “as-designed” models and “as-built” parts.
When a project of 3D Printing companies moves on to the development phase, user requirements and documentation are followed and the project is measured by predefined criteria. It is in this phase that it is accepted by the client of your 3D Printing companies.
After development is completed, the project can now move on to the implementation phase. This phase is the implementation of the system. It is the development of the actual tested solution. The system is configured and launched for testing. At this point feedback can be used to enhance performance and problems can be worked through. It is not unusual for the product to frequently move back and forth from development to testing. User training takes place in this phase.
Reverse Engineering Using 3D Scanners
Today’s engineer lives and thrives in a 3D CAD model world. CAD models of online 3D Printing Bangalore provide design versatility and a direct link to rapid prototype development. As a result, our libraries of CAD models are ever more important.
Reverse engineering using 3D scan data is a fast and efficient way to generate CAD models in 3D Printing Bangalore when an object exhibits a complex shape or when a 3D model does not exist for a component. 3D scanning equipment captures the physical geometry of a component and transforms it into a 3D digital model.
- Obtain CAD data that captures an object’s original design intent
- Design a new part to fit to a legacy part
- Accurately model performance surfaces
- Update CAD models of your tooling to match shop-floor changes
- Redesign a part without manufacturing defects
- Modernize your manufacturing process
- For animation or visualization
- To perform dimensional and comparative analysis of an object
- For performing FEA or CFD analysis
- To digitally reconstruct a damaged part so that it can be reproduced in its originally intended form using rapid prototyping or CNC technologies
3D scanning technologies come in many shapes and forms with a different 3D Printing quote. Some are stationary, requiring the part to be brought to the scanner. Scanning laser technology then surveys the 3D contour of the surface and saves the geometrical data to a CAD model.
3D scanners have been used to scan vehicles, airplanes, historic monuments, ships, submarines, buildings, monuments, sculptures, consumer products, to name a few.
An example of a complex 3D scanning problem is the 3D scan generation performed by Creaform using their HandyScan3D handheld unit in combination with a long-range scanner of the United States Marine Corps War Memorial replica, located at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in South Carolina.
The purpose of the project was historical preservation so that the memorial could be recreated in the future if it were ever to suffer damage. The handheld scanner used for this application is capable of scanning ½ million points per second with up to 30 sq.m resolution accuracy and 60 sq.m volumetric accuracy.
How do 3D scanners work?
Laser scanning passes a laser line over the surface of an object. Surface data is captured by a camera sensor mounted in the laser scanner which records and saves three-dimensional information to a model. Regions of an object are scanned at once, allowing hundreds or thousands of closely positioned points to be surveyed at once. Several types of laser scanners exist, including line, patch, and spherical.
Laser scanning is performed without making contact with the object. Digitizing is a contact-based form of 3D scanning in which a point or ball probe is scanned over points on the surface of an object to record geometrical position information.
Digitizing is more accurate for industrial reverse engineering applications of 3D Printing service in India when precision of a complex part is desired, whereas 3D laser scanning is far more desirable for non-standard or organic shapes such as sculptures or a person’s face.
Digitizing is often limited to smaller objects, while 3D laser scanning of 3D Printing online is more versatile, and can be used to scan large objects, such as vehicles or buildings. White light scanning, CT scanning and photo image-based systems are alternate methods that are being used for 3D scanning applications in many 3D Printing companies in Bangalore.
- Bright white light sources can be detrimental to 3D scanning technologies of 3D Printing companies, requiring many outdoor laser scanning projects to be conducted after daylight hours.
- 3D scanning of 3D Printing service works better on matte finishes than highly reflective surfaces, which reflect white light. Spray-on solutions exist that can effectively dull a surface prior to scanning.
- Some intricate objects, such as large sculptures, require the use of stationary and handheld scanners to reconstruct the entire surface. This process of 3D Printing online requires detailed and intricate image and position registration – fortunately, many companies exist that have mastered this process and provide solutions for these difficult problems.
Inspection Using 3D Scanning Technologies
Inspection is another valuable use of 3D scanners of online 3D Printing India, allowing parts to be rapidly checked to ensure that manufacturing tolerances have been met. 3D scanning technologies are commonly used in First Article Inspection, where high accuracy and extremely fine resolution are required in order to verify that a physical part has been produced according to production drawings.
Scanners can also inspect a “final” part so that final part models and drawings can be generated for use as blueprints and for remanufacturing a part. Inspection of aging components or systems is also possible using these technologies.
For aging ships or aircraft, for example, or when modifications are required to update the vehicle, reverse engineering using laser based 3d scanning technologies can produce the physical dimensions of the vehicle or its parts.
A prime example is reverse engineering an F-15 test plane for NASA engineers conducted by Direct Dimensions, Inc. (DDI) in 2006 with affordable 3D Printing services. The engineers at NASA desired to modify the test plane and obtain in-flight data to verify their design improvements.
Due to the daunting costs associated with full-scale testing, and the danger associated with measuring pressure on a plane moving at supersonic speeds using a chase plane, they chose to reverse engineer the plane so that they could simulate the design changes using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software prior to implementation and testing.
DDI used the FARO LS 3D laser system, a portable scanner designed for scanning the shape of large objects, capable of acquiring up to 120,000 points per second over ranges of up to 80 meters. This technology allowed DDI to quickly and accurately capture the exterior shape of the jet with an accuracy of +/-6 millimetres.
The raw 3D scan data provided a high-resolution point cloud of laser-reflected spots off the plane’s surfaces that were digitally processed and converted to CAD format. Over 50 individual scans from different positions were used to generate over 50 million data points that were used in reverse engineering the F-15.