MicroScribe plus MicroScan -
New Tools for a Broad Range of 3D Applications

Introducing a New Geneation of Powerful but Affordable 3D Scanners

3D digitizing is becoming more and more important in many applications. 3D scanners allow you to rapidly and quickly collect data to drive applications in graphic arts, reverse engineering, computer aided manu-facturing, metrology and inspection. These scanners are powerful tools that allow for the input of complex objects at speeds never before achievable.

The Challenge Remains: How do I take samples and prototypes and create editable CAD model from them? How can I do this quickly and accurately?

However, these powerful high-level tools have been very expensive - for many potential users 3D scanning systems were far beyond their budgets. With the availability of the new MicroScribe/ MicroScan price/performance has reached new levels of availability.

Hardware and System Specifications

The MicroScribe/MicroScan provides:

• accuracy of 0.1 to 0.3 mm (depending on type of MicroScribe)
• reach of 1.5 m and 1.9 m (including laser sensor, depending on type of MicroScribe)
• high performance at 28,000 points per second
• small, ergonomic design allows scanning the most difficult recesses easily
• dual laser configuration for two working space sizes offered with every MicroScribe
• unlimited portability, MicroScribe and MicroScan laser fit into a traveller’s suitcase
• priced at a fraction of the price of other systems ranging in comparable performance classes

The MicroScan laser sensor head simply attaches to the stylus of the 6DOF Microscribe as an external device. Connecting the cables and setting up the scanner just takes a minute or two. Scanning is intuitive and compares to spray painting an object with a spray pistol: The laser line is swept over the object while the sensor’s camera captures the deformations of the line caused by the variations in surface curvature (laser profiling). When operated, MicroScan and MicroScribe outputs are synchronized and transferred to the MicroScan Tools software for real-time visualization and subsequent processing. Different scans from different perspectives around the object can be captured, precisely aligned, and merged. As a final result a 3D model of the object surface in point cloud or polygon mesh representation is available. Scanning and creating a model is easy and requires only a few hours to learn.

All system activities are controlled by RSI’s MicroScan Tools software:

• MicroScan-to-MicroScribe calibration
• camera sensitivity adjustment (in case of critical object surface properties)
• working space selection
• scan rate adjustment
• singlescan and multiscan (from different perspectives) operation
• scan data acquisition and processing
• 3D model export (in point cloud and polygon mesh representation)

In addition to laser scanning also the MicroScribe’s stand-alone capabilities as a touch probe digitizer are directly supported from within MicroScan Tools:

• capture 3D point positions
• use MicroScribe standard tips and user-provided tips of different lengths

Data processing features include:

• online mesh generation and real time visualization
• mesh registration by reference, best fit, freehand
• mesh manipulation ( e.g. trimming, hole filling, cluster detection, smoothing, decimation)
• basic inspection features (e.g. distance, area, volume)
• export to various mesh formats (stl, obj, vrml), and ASCII point cloud
• and others

Although it is difficult to structure the 3D application market and minimize overlap, four major segments can be defined:

• 3D graphics
  visual design, art and creative design, presentation, animation, 3D education and training
• reverse engineering and rapid prototyping
  industrial design and production
• metrology
  industrial inspection and quality control
• physical analysis
  product development, materials evaluation, research and development, documentation

For all of them extensive 3D software support is available. The MicroScribe can be interfaced to almost every 3D software, either by direct support, special plug-ins, or by the MicroScribe Utility Software (MUS). MicroScan preferably exports 3D results in industrial standard formats at the end of the postprocessing cycle rather than outputting measured data directly as they are created. Point clouds (e.g. in ASCII text format) or polygon models (e.g. in stl format) can be exported. MicroScan is compatible to almost every software application supporting point or polygon import.

The following tables list major application segments and established software/ hardware solutions (excerpt of some typical and popular products):