Producing Geometry You Can Trust
QC provided an engineer for our project who did a great job of collecting the dimensional data for the parts to be reverse engineered, creating the CAD models, and producing prints for manufacturing. He kept in regular contact with me throughout the project, allowing us to quickly resolve issues as they arose. He was also very responsive when asked to make changes to the prints. Overall, a superior job.
- Paul,
Power Generation
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Four Ways to Reduce Scanning Costs
You'll always want to find the most cost-effective means of scanning and modeling your products. There are a number of ways to control costs, one of which is to scan the product with a lower accuracy system. For precision manufacturers, that's usually not a viable option, so these 4 ideas are focused on controlling scanning and modeling costs while maintaining accuracy of the results.1. Limit the number of parts to be scanned
Designers often want to see variability between parts to determine tolerances for a new product. Tolerances should be developed from the part assembly, performance metrics, and industry standards. Variation from part to part only gives a tiny snapshot of how the manufacuring process performed when the parts were being made. Scan multiple parts when you need averages to produce a "golden model" of the point cloud, or if you want "good" and "bad" results compared, or if you need another valid comparison such as between cavities or between suppliers.
2. Scan only one side
If only one area of the part is critical to you, don't spend the money to scan all features. Much more time is involved in producing a 360-degree scan of an object. Scanning a single side is most useful if you have a critical sealing surface or the part is uniform in thickness (such as a precision metal stamping).
3. Use the "least" level of file output that will work for your application
A word of caution here; don't compromise by purchasing a file you can't use. With that in mind, the cost of the project increases along a progression of file types, generally in this order: point cloud, STL, comparative analysis, NURBS surface, native parametric, 2D prints. The farther down the line, the more cost that's involved. Choose the file type that best fits your application.
4. Use a method other than scanning
If you are looking for detailed measurements from your scan, your least expensive solution may be to apply traditional dimensional inspection using a CMM or other mechanical equipment. Laser scanning and white light scanning have their place, but they may not be your most cost effective approach to achieve your end result.©2012 David DeVowe
