Custom 3D SCAN Quote

New 3D Scanning Tech Makes Capturing Data from Half Mile Away Possible

3D-scannning-Heriot-Watt-Univercity
Picture credit: hw.ac.uk

It’s rather fascinating. 3D scanning can be used in so many different ways, but I bet you didn’t know it could be used from far away. We’re talking half a mile away kind of far. A new project shows that this is definitely possible with a new HD scanner that can make 3D models using lasers. Oh, and it can do this from a half mile away. Did we mention that part yet?

Researchers at Heriot Watt University, which is located in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, have developed this new technology. It works by using an infrared laser to scan across an object. The device captures how long it takes for the laser’s photons to hit the object and bounce back to create a pixel map. This makes a three-dimensional model that can be used in any way you want.

What’s really impressive is this system can show the depth of an object down to the millimeter. Yes, even from that far distance. It can even be used in a time-lapsed way, which can record grass growing or to find objects in a sea of clutter. These are really novel uses for 3D scanning, which totally expands the technology into new territory.

Read more

3D Scanning Bureau Added Special Effects Shots in Life of Pi Movie

Life of Pi 3D ScanningR&H i.e. Rhythm and Hues is one of the largest and world-famous visual effects studio companies of the film industry. This time, R&H visual effects studio has completed most of its VFX shots featured in one of the 3D adventurous drama films named Life of Pi. This studio has hired the service of 3D Scanning bureau of Taiwan named LeaderTek. In this way, R&H studio has availed the benefits of the power of 3dimensional data capture for making different types and amazing special effects in the movies.

Direction of the Movie ‘Life of Pi’

Ang Lee, winner of the Academy Award is responsible for directing the movie of Life of Pi. The entire movie has drawn upon big team of renowned artists spanning the offices of R&H in approximately six different places of the world. These include India, Los Angeles, Taiwan, Vancouver and Kuala Lampur. R&H studio has taken the responsibility of covering more than hundreds of shots of visual effects to be presented in 3dimensional stereo.

Special Effects Shots in the Movie

Some of the special effects shots may include digitally recreated skies and water, Bengal tiger, floating raft, lifeboat, Meerkat Island, digitally created skies and water and several other additional features. LeaderTek used 3D laser scanner of FARO Focus for digitally capturing the floating raft and lifeboat.

Read more

3D Printing Used for Skull Implant

Technology plays a vital role in developing new methods of treatment for many different conditions. However, did you know that 3D printing can actually be used in the development of implants? Specifically, this technology was used just this year to replace a man’s skull.

Oxford Performance Materials  was charged with creating the implant to be placed in an American patient. The surgery that resulted actually replaced 75{ed34752d3d9237811f2899a265685e36705e4e86722207f201c96dd1cfc4a167} of the man’s skull. The implant itself is called the OsteoFab Patient Specific Cranial Device or OPSCD and was made out of polyetherketoneketone thermoplastic. The material itself is not rejected by the human body and won’t even interfere with future x-rays.

Read more

3D Scanning Increases Oil Rig Safety

CromartyOilPlatformWorking on an oil rig is a job that constantly places your wellbeing in danger. Fires happen often and people tend to get injured. Accidents happen all the time and they can result in the loss of a limb or even death. Safety is obviously a priority but it’s hard to ramp up safety efforts more than they already are.

One thing that hasn’t been accounted for is the weight of the crew. Since the 1980s, workers on oil rigs have increased 19{ed34752d3d9237811f2899a265685e36705e4e86722207f201c96dd1cfc4a167} in weight from 11 stone to 14 stone. This puts evacuation strategies at risk. Everything from gear, to life rafts, to how much weight helicopters can hold are on the line here.

That’s why 3D scanning is so essential to safety improvements. It makes it possible to collect data about employees on offshore oil rigs. This way, new emergency procedures and regulations can be put into place to meet these new specifications. The changes made will compensate for the fact that people weigh more now than they used to.

Read more

EMS Uses 3D Scanning on Land Assault Vehicles

Z800 Vivid 9i 3D_Scanning LAV

There doesn’t seem to be much technology can’t accomplish. It’s really quite amazing. Recently, the US Marine Corps contracted with EMS to use 3D scanning technology to capture data about the Land Assault Vehicle or LAV. Five LAV’s in all were scanned to create CAD models of these vehicles.

The US Marine Corps initially approached EMS because they needed 3D models of their LAVs. These models were going to be used to develop simulation software and training programs. Initially, they were going to measure the LAVs themselves and make the CAD models from scratch. However, it was determined that this would be way too time-consuming and wouldn’t produce a quality final result. That’s when 3D scanning was brought on board.

EMS went out to the California desert and scanned five different versions of the LAV. They used both the Konica Minolta and Z-Corps 3D scanning systems to accomplish this task. They scanned both the interior and exterior of all the different LAV models. This allows them to get into every little nook and cranny of the vehicles. This would’ve been much too difficult to measure by hand and to reproduce by hand and import into modeling software. Once the scanning was complete, both the interior and exterior scans were combined to create a full 3D model.

Read more