July 2019

What 3D scanning equipment do you use?

One of the questions we get asked by our customers is “What 3D scanning equipment do you use and why?”

There are many types of 3D scanning equipment available on the market today, you can even download apps to 3D scan an object on your phone, however the fundamental difference is the level of accuracy and repeatability that you achieve.
Our MD Tim Rapley introduced the UK’s first GOM 3D scanning systems during his time at McLaren. Since then, the technological advancements made by the GOM company have earned them a prestigious reputation as leaders in the world of metrology.

3D scanning is the process of capturing a physical object and collecting surface data to generate a point cloud or polygon mesh that can be used for product design and development, analysis or help to refine production processes and improve product efficiency.

To demonstrate this, we decided to use an everyday item to showcase our metrology system’s capability and with Wimbledon in full swing (excuse the pun…net!) and an expected 166,055 portions of strawberries and cream being consumed this year, we thought a strawberry would be a good choice!

A strawberry has a lot of surface detail and as we specialise in capturing surface geometries, it brilliantly showcases the capability of the industry-renowned GOM metrology systems used by our expert team and the images demonstrate the level of accuracy that can be achieved. At Physical Digital we pride ourselves on the expert knowledge of our engineers and our rigorous processes and procedures such as environmental control, to ensure that we capture your project at very high-levels of accuracy.

Our GOM 3D scanning systems

Here at Physical Digital® we offer a suite of 3D Structured Light (3DSL) optical measurement services using the industry leading GOM 3D ATOS scanning systems.

GOM ATOS Triple Scan (8M)

This flexible scanning system is most commonly used for our mobile measurement services, allowing us to provide you a flexible service at your premises therefore minimising downtime. GOM ATOS Triple scanners are high resolution, optical digitizers that deliver rapid and precise three-dimensional measuring data. This can be used for the measurement and inspection of many industrial parts and when combined with our GOM TRITOP Photogrammetry systems can be used to capture larger objects such as wind turbines, boat hulls and train carriages etc.

The ATOS Triple Scan technology works by projecting a fringe pattern (Structured Light) onto the surface of the object which is recorded by two cameras and is based on the stereo camera principle. The narrow-band blue light enables precise measurements to be carried out independently of environmental lighting conditions, improving overall accuracy.
Using triangulation principles, the sensor accurately measures the divergence and convergence of the pattern, creating a high-density point cloud of surface measurements.

GOM ATOS Compact Scan (12M)

This is another of our mobile 3D scanning systems that is used for a wide range of applications. Its interchangeable lenses provide small to large fields of view with high detail accuracy. This enable a sharp and precise scan result, which lends itself perfectly for inspection and reverse engineering.

Both mobile 3D scanners also enables probing, which enables our engineers to capture deep pockets, bores holes or areas that cannot be accessed optically (line of sight).

GOM ATOS ScanBox 5120 (16M)

Based at our facility in Guildford, Surrey our GOM ATOS ScanBox is ideally suited for batch measurement for parts up to 2 metres in size such as blades blisks, turbines, vehicle components etc. It delivers rapid, high accuracy automated 3D measurements. Contained within our environmentally controlled measurement cell, the ScanBox utilises the GOM ATOS 16M Triple Scan sensor, with the ability to capture surface data with a detail resolution of more than 20 measuring points per millimetre.