As projects come in thick and fast, and clients demand a quick turnaround and precise accuracy on all drawings, engineering companies need some help. To keep up with demand, and ensure that quality remains as high as ever, engineering companies have started to include 3D laser scanning technology into their tool bag in order to speed up the design process.

What Is 3D Laser Scanning?

3D laser scanning is a non-destructive, non-contact technology that captures the shape of objects digitally using laser light. They can measure fine details and collect data in order to put together some very accurate point clouds. They are typically used to inspect and measure objects that have contoured surfaces or geometries that need a huge amount of data. This is an invaluable working method where traditional measuring techniques are not applicable or are just impractical to use.

3D laser scanning allows engineers to achieve accurate and seamless design, as it can complete 3D Building Information Modelling (BIM) software. Cross-collaboration between departments and automation of designs are just two of the advantages to the combination of these technologies.

How Does It Work?

As the name may suggest, 3D laser scanning is the process of using laser light to digitally capture the shape of objects in the immediate vicinity of the device. The scanner is placed on a tripod and captures a 360 degree image of the surrounding area that it can see. “Point clouds” are created from the data that is collected from the physical room that it is in. In English, this means that an exact digital replica of all of the shapes of objects in the room, and is represented as a 3D model and can be transferred into multiple BIM, AR, VR, and CAD applications.

There are many different laser scanners available on the market, with the Leica BLK360 being a popular choice. It is one of (if not THE) lightest and smallest laser scanners available on the market, which in turn makes it easier for engineers and technicians to bring it around to sites that need surveying. In addition to its portability, it only takes roughly 3 minutes to make a full 360 degrees scan with it recording 360,000 scan points per second, saving time and effort.

Why Do Engineers Need This Technology?

3D laser scanning is the most accurate, cheapest, and fastest way of collecting 3D digital data and surveying sites, and complex buildings. While this technology is still advancing, CAD developers have started to support the data and new versions of AutoCAD and Autodesk Revit offered very realistic simulations and walkthroughs from the digital scans.

*Scanning technology has been around for years, the time has come for engineers to avail of this technology! Source: Pexels*

It is easy to describe the advantages for the engineers and technicians that set up the laser scanners, instead of bringing around a measuring tape and recording measurements by hand, all the user has to do is push a button on the scanner, and off it goes. ReCap Pro is one of the software programs that stitches together the data and determines the surface area and measurements. If anything needs to be confirmed with any contractor, having an accurate, to-scale 3D model of the site is invaluable. This also saves money by limiting site visits to just one, as after one visit you will have a digital model of the whole site with measurements.

Making the transition from raw laser to point cloud and then onto a software such as BIM typically takes a group of specialist vendors, hardware, and software. Fortunately, this new technology has been developed so that it can all be completed by one device, and reduces the time significantly to get a real-life 3D scan of an object or room. Utilizing this, focus can be shifted onto other aspects of the business while the design workflow is optimized and simplified.

Always Improving

New technologies are always improving and evolving, that is why it is important for engineers to keep their finger on the pulse of developing tech in order to be able to work as efficiently and effectively as possible. Doing this will allow engineers to provide high-quality work and exceed client’s expectations every time. That is what we aspire to do here at Engineering Solutions, we stay on top of the latest trends in order to make sure our clients are as happy as can be. If you need our services please do not hesitate to give us a call, we would be happy to help!

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