5/19/2015

3DScannersAguideto3Dscannertechnology|Geomagic

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3DScanners
Aguideto3Dscannertechnology

3 D SC A N N ER S

3Dscanningopensupaworldof
possibilities.Imaginebeingabletocaptureanythinginthephysicalworld,
andhaveadigitalmodelofitinminutes.
Youdonthavetoimagine.Everyday,thousandsofcompaniesareusing3Dscannersandsoftwareto:
CreateCADmodelsofrealpartstocapturelostdesigns,updateexistingproductsandmakenewones
VerifyproductqualitybycomparingmanufacturedpartstoCADdesigns
Makemasscustomizedproductsforhealthcare,dentistryandfashion
Scanentirebuildingstocreateaccurate3Dmodels
Andmuchmore
Thisisnotsciencefiction.3Dscannersandaccompanyingsoftwarearenowwithinthereachofmany.Scannersare
faster,lessexpensiveandmoreaccurate.3Dscanprocessingsoftwareismoreautomated,createsbetterresults,and
worksfasterthaneverbefore.

WhatAre3DScanners?
Therearemanydifferentdevicesthatcanbecalled3Dscanners.Anydevicethatmeasuresthephysicalworldusing
lasers,lightsorxraysandgeneratesdensepointcloudsorpolygonmeshescanbeconsidereda3Dscanner.Theygoby
manynames,including3Ddigitizers,laserscanners,whitelightscanners,industrialCT,LIDAR,andothers.Thecommon
unitingfactorofallthesedevicesisthattheycapturethegeometryofphysicalobjectswithhundredsofthousandsor
millionsofmeasurements.

WhyDoINeed3DScanningSoftware?
Becausescannerscollectimmenseamountsofdata,dedicatedsoftwarelikeGeomagicisneededtoprocesstheoutput
intosomethingusablethatothersoftwarecanhandle.Dependingonwhatthescandatawillbeusedfor,Geomagiccan
domanydifferentthingstothedata.Themostcommonapplicationsfor3Dscanningarereverseengineering,inspection
anddigitalarchivingor3Dprinting.DedicatedsoftwarelikeGeomagicisthefastest,easiestwaytounlockthefull
potentialofa3Dscanner.

HowDo3DScannersWork?
Therearemanydifferentapproachesto3Dscanning,basedondifferentprinciplesofimaging.Sometechnologiesare
idealforshortrangescanning,whileothersarebetterformidorlongrangescanning.

ShortRange(<1meterfocaldistance)
LaserTriangulation3DScanners

Lasertriangulationscannersuseeitheralaserlineorsinglelaser
pointtoscanacrossanobject.Asensorpicksupthelaserlight
thatisreflectedofftheobject,andusingtrigonometric
triangulation,thesystemcalculatesthedistancefromtheobject
tothescanner.
Thedistancebetweenthelasersourceandthesensorisknown
veryprecisely,aswellastheanglebetweenthelaserandthe
sensor.Asthelaserlightreflectsoffthescannedobject,the
systemcandiscernwhatangleitisreturningtothesensorat,and
thereforethedistancefromthelasersourcetotheobjectssurface.
StructuredLight(WhiteorBlueLight)3DScanners
Structuredlightscannersalsousetrigonometrictriangulation,but
insteadoflookingatlaserlight,thesesystemsprojectaseriesof
linearpatternsontoanobject.Then,byexaminingtheedgesof
eachlineinthepattern,theycalculatethedistancefromthe
scannertotheobjectssurface.Essentially,insteadofthecamera
seeingalaserline,itseestheedgeoftheprojectedpattern,and
calculatesthedistancesimilarly.

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3DScannersAguideto3Dscannertechnology|Geomagic
Shortrange3DScannerTypes

Pros

Cons

Lasertriangulation

Availableinmanyforms
Areascanner
Handheld
Portablearm
Oftenmoreportable
Lesspartprepneeded
Lesssensitivetoambientlight

Patternfringetriangulation

Usuallymoreaccurate
Oftenhigherresolution
Lowernoise

Generallylessaccurate
Generallylowerresolution
Highernoise

Limitedtoareascannertype
Generallynotassmall/portable
Moresensitivetosurfacefinish
(requiresprep)
Mayrequirespecificlighting

MidandLongRange(>2metersfocaldistance)
LaserPulsebased3DScanners

Laserpulsebasedscanners,alsoknownastimeofflightscanners,arebasedonaverysimpleconcept:thespeedoflight
isknownveryprecisely,soifweknowhowlongalasertakestoreachanobjectandreflectbacktoasensor,weknow
howfarawaythatobjectis.Thesesystemsusecircuitrythatisaccuratetopicosecondstomeasurethetimeittakesfor
millionsofpulsesofthelasertoreturntothesensor,andcalculatesadistance.Byrotatingthelaserandsensor(usually
viaamirror),thescannercanscanuptoafull360degreesarounditself.
LaserPhaseshift3DScanners
Laser
phase
shift
systems
are
another
typeof
timeof
flight3D
scannertechnology,andconceptuallyworksimilarlytopulsebasedsystems.Inadditiontopulsingthelaser,these
systemsalsomodulatethepowerofthelaserbeam,andthescannercomparesthephaseofthelaserbeingsentoutand
thenreturnedtothesensor.Forreasonsthatarebeyondthiswebpagesscope,phaseshiftmeasurementismore
precise.

MidandLongrange3DScannerTypes

Pros

Pulsebased

Mediumandlongrange
(2m1000m)

Phaseshift

Moreaccurate
Fasterdataacquisition
Lowernoise

Cons
Lessaccurate
Slowerdataacquisition
Highernoise
Mediumrangeonly

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