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.

Read the complete story!

Last August, we launched the Put Us to the Test 2010 challenge. The 3 most challenging entries shared more than $25,000 in 3D engineerng services. Here are the highlights:

Nothing is Impossible – The Walking Horse $20,000 grand prize winning project

The main goal of the “Walking Horse” ideaman Benjamin Julian was to build a mechanical horse that would faithfully reproduce the fluidity of the equine walk.  So, our mechanical engineers developed an acrylic and aluminium prototype able to walk on a straight line while keeping its balance, and also turn to the left and right. 
A living horse’s leg has 8 degrees of freedom (DOF), but our prototype’s leg will have only 4 DOF to control in order to decrease the complexity level of the robot. Moreover, another servomotor has been embedded in the structure to simulate the hip movement.
All the servomotors are controlled by a servo controller programmed using the LynxmotionVisual Sequencer software to define the angular position of each joint in time. Watch the prototype in motion!

Consider it Done! – $2,000 prizes

FP Innovations’s Aboriginal Totem Pole involved 3D scanning of an Aboriginal totem pole and post-treatment of the 3D file generated. Using the high accuracy data file obtained, the company carves reduced-scale totems using a 5-axis CNC machine.

Lastly, Globe Composite Solutions’ Hand-Made Diving Helmet project involved 3D scanning of the hand-made helmet, and reconstruction under CATIA to create a 3D file for manufacturing of an aluminum mould for ongoing production.

Read the complete press release! ]]> http://blog.creaform3d.com/2011/04/creaforms-put-us-to-the-test-2010-challenge-all-3-engineering-services-projects-are-completed/feed/ 0 http://blog.creaform3d.com/2010/02/science-fiction-of-3d-laser-scanning/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=science-fiction-of-3d-laser-scanning http://blog.creaform3d.com/2010/02/science-fiction-of-3d-laser-scanning/#comments Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:11:04 +0000 Isabelle Roy http://blog.creaform3d.com/?p=470 ACCURACY AND RESOLUTION IMPROVEMENT

When we think of future laser scanning, first thing that comes in mind is an accuracy and resolution improvement. But this is not the big deal…

 First parameters to consider are from an engineering point of view and are limited by price and engineering capabilities. Structural rigidity of the scanner itself has virtually no limitations if we consider new materials (ceramics) and new geometries (thermo stablility, stiffness etc). Cameras are getting more and more pixels and optics gets very high quality (price will surely lower with time).

 When talking about accuracy the real problem comes from physics limitations. This is what will ultimately stop accuracy improvement. Since surface geometry is acquire from laser light, first physical limitation to consider is wavelength of laser. Actually there is a physic theorem that states it is impossible to observe details smaller than wavelength used. Right now lasers used in 3D scanning are all visible light (between 400 and 700 nm). Maybe future laser scanners will use shorter wavelength such as UV?

 Another limitation comes from light interaction with matter. When light passes close to a sharp edge it is diffracted making the laser line to split into diffraction patterns. Light is not always reflected on the first layer of atoms of the material (what is the physical boundary between an object and space surrounding it anyway?). These considerations make it really hard to estimate the maximum accuracy achievable. Moreover when entering the physical considerations, it seems that material composition could affect precision itself.

 FORESEEN IMPROVEMENTS FOR 3D LASER SCANNING

 For 3D scanning used in Reverse Engineering (RE) and Inspection, we can foresee that the real next major evolution step will be live features recognition. Intelligent software improvement would permit to recognize, in real time, the actual geometry that is scanned. This could permit automatic reconstruction for RE, automatic alignment with CAD when inspecting and moreover it could eliminate needs for targeting! Imagine that the software recognize the parts it is scanning as a solid object: it would make it possible for the software to know where measurement is actually being taken on the part. This is truly artificial intelligence, but new development in this area (3D object reconstruction from pictures) forecast real developments right on the corner.

 Who will be first to release such technology?

They published a video on youtube, have a look.

Not only do they push back the limits of aesthetics, but they also push back the limits of mechanics.

Among other things, they keep developing:
_ Packaging to deliver the exact dose; NO waste!
_ Packaging in easily stackable shapes to make handling and warehousing easier
_ Packaging using less material in order to respect the environment and reduce shipping costs; that’s killing two birds with one stone!

Since businesses keep looking for ways to improve their packaging, many companies developing computer-assisted design software have seen the opportunity and developed software catering to this need; Dassault Systèmes is one of them. Their CPG software (Consumer Packaged Goods) allows for instance to take professionals working in this sector from design to client experience through simulation. Isn’t that great?

Simulation could be addressed in greater depth in a coming post; that would be very interesting.

To begin with, the client gave us a mock-up of the helmet, which we scanned to get a .STL file. Based on that file, I reconstructed the style surfaces in CATIA V5, based on some constraints such as the appearance of the surfaces, the reflects that they generated and the compliance to the .stl file. Compliance to these constraints was mandatory, as it impacted the final result directly, and therefore, the finished product. Besides, I had to be very careful when executing this first step, as it was crucial to the smooth conduct of the whole project.

Following that, the client sent a series of modifications to the helmet’s design (which he kept doing throughout the whole project). My job was to retranscribe all the styling changes required by the designer into my file – the tricky part, because you need to gauge the feasibility level of such modifications and identify potential issues they could lead to. Still, I felt like this was the best part of the project, because I had some freedom and could use my imagination (while staying in line with the designer’s stylistic intention, of course)!         

The last part of the project was to design the helmet’s various technical parts. This step was no walk in the park – I sometimes had to touch up the exterior design locally (by making stylistic propositions) in order to adapt it to the various technical choices made by the client.

In the end, I succeeded in delivering a complete, CATIA V5 assembly to the client, comprised of the helmet and its various components. In hindsight, this project was very rewarding to me, because it called on my various skills and allowed me to mix styling and reverse engineering with the more technical aspect of designing the surrounding parts.