It’s a Small World

1. Small scale is defined as up to 100 cubic mm, and mid range up to 3 meters in the metrology world.
2. Reverse engineering requires the capture of design intent, i.e. an intelligent 3D CAD model as the deliverable.
3. SME has a 3D Imaging Tech Group looking at standards. There is  an upcoming conference.

For those who have been following In The Scan you will know that I have not been devoting much space to the small scale and mid range markets. This is not because of a lack of interest, but rather a lack of experience. BTW, I am seeing small scale defined as being from Angstroms up to 100 cubic mm, and mid range from 100 cubic mm  up to 3 meters. These boundaries should be considered somewhat fuzzy, not as strict definitions of the devices resolution and/or the measured volumes.

The dimensional metrology world, as I have heard it referred to at the ASTM E 57 meetings, has as much of a track record with laser scanning as does terrestrial, if not more. The two primary applications are quality control, or comparison of a manufactured part to a “standard”; and reverse engineering, which differs from just capturing shapes to also include the design intent.

To capture design intent the process must yield a CAD or intelligent solid model – not just a “dumb” surface. This is where I think the common ground starts to exist with the long range world of infrastructure modeling. Both groups are looking for that intelligent 3D object that can be integrated into the design process – an automobile and a digital city, for example.

To me the case of the parts manufacturing environment would seem to be much more constrained, and made up of fewer variables than the diversity found in the built environment, but that could just be a bias on my part. I think the process plant environment is closer to the reverse engineering world, and why a company like INOVx is finding such success in automating the creation of intelligent 3D plant models.

In any case there is a severe lack of information exchange between the 2 worlds, which is something that I would like to correct with In The Scan, but I really need the help of the manufacturing engineers out there to be able to accomplish this.

As one component of that effort I want to make everyone aware of the SME’s – Society for Manufacturing Engineer’s 3D Imaging Tech Group, and of an upcoming 3D IMAGING Conference. The latter is being held in Schaumberg, IL on May 12 – 14, 2009. I am reaching out to the Tech Group to see if we can begin a conversation. Your thoughts on how best to make this happen are welcomed.