3D Scanning Anywhere: Sky is The Limit

3D Scanning Anywhere is back for the last experiment of the year! After proving the HandySCAN 3D won’t lose any of its accuracy wherever it’s being used on the ground, Simon decided to bring the challenge to a whole new level: extract measurements a thousand feet up in the sky as accurately as with a CMM. To do so, he teamed up with Peter Warburton, Business Development Manager here at Creaform and also pilot of his own handcrafted airplane. After gathering measurements of a gauge block with a CMM in a controlled lab, they both flew away and repeated the process with a handheld 3D scanner. Their goal: demonstrate the HandySCAN 3D is a metrology-grade alternative to traditional measuring tools.

Accurate MeasurementsWhere You Actually Need Them

Traditional CMMs are, in fact, still a reliable technology. But as the manufacturing industry is evolving, having a bulky, and fixed measurement tool further away from the production line becomes less and less efficient. Time loss from moving pieces back and forth is translated in cost increase. Not to mention not all pieces that can be moved to a CMM or even on a CMM because of the limited area available.

However, with handheld 3D scanning devices, you do not have to worry about these problems. They are convenient and adapt to any work environment to be fully and efficiently integrated into your workflow. From manual data acquisition to automated inspection, portable 3D scanners’ results are not affected by the environment and are user independent. That means external vibrations or the user’s former experience with the technology will have no impact on measurements.

As seen in this episode of 3D Scanning Anywhere, the HandySCAN 3D can be used even in restrained spaces like a small plane cockpit. Our TRUportability technology enables anyone to perform a 3D scan on complex shapes even if they are not easily accessible. For example, in the event you would need to inspect a part fixed in a restrained space of a car or a plane, a handheld 3D scanner such as the HandySCAN 3D becomes the best metrology tool to achieve your inspection.

Uncontrollable Environment? Worry no more!

Use VXelements to create planes and extract measurements from your 3D scans

Even more impressive are the measurements Simon took with the handheld 3D scanner in impractical conditions: cold weather, shaky environment, restrained space, 1000 feet up in the sky, and at 100 km/h. Such unstable conditions in a lab environment would scare even the most trained CMM user. But the HandySCAN 3D measured the 7.62 cm (3 in) gauge block with a slight deviation of 35 µ (0.035 mm) from the CMM, considering thermal expansion caused by the 12 °C difference from the lab! And since the operating temperature range of the HandySCAN 3D is between 5 °C and 40° C, the low 12 °C up in the air was not a barrier to accuracy. These results mean that metrology-grade accuracy is at your reach no matter where you are, and whether or not you are able to control the environment where you are working. Assessing damages, finding a root cause, assembling custom parts and performing quality control has never been more accessible to industries.

Where is Simon going to take the HandySCAN 3D next? Stay tuned! In the meantime, watch him use its accuracy and simplicity to 3D scan down the slopes and on the race track!