This picture was published by Lufthansa Airlines in the February edition of their Lufthansa Magazin, and it was shot during the 3D scanning of the new Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 aircraft’s interior.

Splendid!

Source: Lufthansa Magazin, February of 2012. P. 44-45.

The project consisted of 2 steps: conducting a full scan of the plane interior and creating 3D model files. To complete the 1^st step, a team of Creaform applications engineers travelled to the client’s facilities in Germany. The engineers came equipped with Handyscan 3D scanners, a Leica long-range scanner, MetraSCAN optical CMM 3D scanners with C-Track sensors and a MAXscan for the photogrammetry part. Once the data was acquired and compiled, the files were post-processed before being transferred to Creaform’s CAD Department in Lévis for phase 2.

Using CATIA V5 software, Creaform designers reconstructed the plane’s interior, including the various elements of the plane’s structure, such as floor beams and plates, frames, longerons, mechanisms, and various types of piping and wiring. Work was broken down into parts according to the plane’s sections. Using digital files, solid models of airplane elements were recreated. 

These solid models can be sectioned, and planes or surfaces can be built directly on top of them. For objects with continuous sections, solid models were generated either as an extruded section following a direction or as a scanned section following a trajectory. For non-continuous parts (e.g., in the case of certain mechanisms), the elements were broken down into basic pieces that could be redefined using simple geometric functions. Surface models were used to render some objects whose shapes were too complex.

The surface models were then thickened to obtain solid models. In the case of this reconstruction, the degree of precision required enabled us to reuse reconstructed elements in different places, such as for the pulleys that guide the control cables.

To complete the project, all reconstruction files were assembled to produce a 3D model of a Boeing 737 interior and delivered to the aviation service company, which used the virtual 3D reproduction to design, produce, and assemble the plane’s interior furnishings to meet the needs of its demanding clientele.

Camoplast’s objectives:

• Control jig bending and wear
• Target potential bending areas caused by production forces
• Detect drilling issues at the source of the problem
• Minimize part inspection costs and timeframes
• Avoid transportation between production and metrology sites

Challenges:

• Very short turnarounds (measures are taken during 15- and 30-minute breaks in the course of a non-stop, 24-hour production cycle)
• Need for accurate and quick results
• Harsh conditions (dust, heat and limited space)

Creaform’s answer

To discover how Creaform solved the case, read the complete story!!

Product manager Dan Brown wrote a new column published on Quality Digest Online explaining how to enhance 3D scanning with photogrammetry…Here’s a sneak peak:

“Improvements to the intrinsic parameters of a system are limited to the technology itself, and there is only so much that can be done with that. On the other hand, there are some ways to improve the accuracy of the positioning device and ultimately lower the error rate of the global 3-D measurement.”

Read the complete column.

As for the HandyPROBE CMM, the sturdier and slimmer device  shed a little more than 0.5 kg and now offers increased reliability. We have made these changes as part of our continuous improvement program  to ensure that we fine tunes our technologies and keep the lead in portable 3D optical measurement technologies. Product director Jean-François Larue pointed out that “the gain in productivity and the outstanding measurement reliability of the HandyPROBE  are definite key points in the decision of  leader companies such as the European Space Agency, EADS (Airbus), Safran, Pratt & Whitney, BMW and Honda to provide their plants with the system.”

Complementary product MaxSHOT 3D optical coordinate measuring system has been developed to add the accuracy and speed of photogrammetry to the wide range of applications already possible with our technologies, especially when it comes to larger parts. Our main goal was to come up with the most user-friendly photogrammetry software that ever existed to support the MaxSHOT 3D , and we are extremely proud to present an innovative software that is very simple to operate.

Featuring real-time visualization and validation of acquired data and an entirely guided step-by-step operation, the VXshot module allows even those new to photogrammetry to quickly and easily generate a high accuracy positioning model of an object.”

“How do 3D optical measurement devices work, exactly?
The basic principle of this technology is that the optical CMM’s cameras track the position of the part and that of a 3D scanner or touch probe simultaneously in a “locked” reference model, which makes measuring possible in all conditions. Factors such as instability in the machine/part setup, vibrations or thermal variations will have absolutely no effect on the output measurement accuracy.”

Read the complete article (p. 20-21).

Benefits of MOCAP:

• Faster than traditional animation (Key frame-based animation)
• Complex movement and realistic physical interaction, it is easy to capture
• Movement precision
• Cost reduction for movies or video games work flow

The MOCAP methods started with a photogrammetric analysis tool. When you use Motion Capture, the person has to wear markers near each joint of his body to identify the movement by angles or positions between the targets. The markers are the acoustics, the inertial, the light-emitting diode (LED), the magnetic or the reflective markers, or combination of all of theses.

I think with the new technologies you can achieve perfect details to make video games and movies more realistic. Let’s check a video to better understand the impact of motion capture!

TOOLS

Leica C10 long range scanner combine with Handyscan 3D Technology makes the perfect tool for boat reverse engineering, repairs, modifications and more… We recently developed a simple process that now permits to import data from scanners to a ShipConstructor compatible file format.

PROCESS

1. Scan – Long range scanning is used to acquire general outlines at large scale. One scan can get data as far as 300 meters! Handyscan 3D is used to acquire detailed in specific areas with higher accuracy

2. Post treatment – Long range scanners output point clouds that must be converted into an .stl. Handyscan 3D technology output an stl right away, a valuable feature that saves time.

 3. Cross sectioning – Once alignment of scans from long range and Handyscan 3D is performed using references it is then possible to slice stl data into cross sections. Reverse Engineering with help of NavWare based in Old Quebec City, we demonstrated Ship Constructor allow importing .dwg, .iges or .step cross sections and use them as references or sketches to create CAD data. Number and positions of different cross sections can be modified and new cross sections can be generated at any time during the reverse engineering process.

 Moreover unique capability for Creaform to merge Handyscan 3D data to long range scanner point cloud can provide a solution to any projects involving complex geometry.

Dimension's uPrint

This means that someone in HP thought that the 3D printing technology is getting ready for mainstream, or as mainstream as you can get with a printer worth 15 000$…! This will certainly open up new markets in two ways.

1. Such a large player will increase awareness of 3D printing in new markets which somehow ignored what 3D printing could do for them. More people will be introduced to 3D printing and some of them might think of new application in their day-to-day job.
2. The increased competition will foster innovation in the market, thus driving the prices down and the capacities of the 3d printers up. The same phenomenon was seen in the internet browser market; when Internet Explorer managed to win against Netscape, its development slowed which picked up only when Firefox, Opera and Chrome started to show up.

On my side, I see it in a larger scope, which somehow is in the same line of thought as my previous post. 3D technologies, not strictly 3D printing, has begun to rise and is here to stay. As people get involved with such technologies, the applications developed will increase and prove their worth. As manufacturers of such tools, it is of our duty to lead this trend and shine through innovation, passion and determination.

Going 3D in Avatar

In the meantime, surfing on the same wave, is what happened at CES 2010. For those who have not been following the Consumer Electronic Show, we can say that 2010 was either the year of the Slate or the Year of the 3D HDTV.

At the same time, we’ve seen 3d camcorders, 3d blu-ray players and 3d gaming slowly coming up. That’s a lot of 3d for one single person!

The amount of consumer products integrating 3D in one form or another clearly shows that the manufacturers are ready to sell 3D technologies. As manufacturers of 3D scanning devices, we can only be excited with the new perspectives that these devices bring to the table. On our side, we have seen that 3D technologies definitely has a place in the industrial world,the next logical step is that the general public to step in this third dimension. It may take a while, but I definitely think that we will somehow get to that.