3D Scanning: The End of the Tape Measure?

The old reliable tape measure. A simple and essential tool that has been the staple of workers?from blue collar to white collar. Tape measures have been used not only by the home handy?man,?but also by professional engineers across the globe to aid them in designing the newest innovations and technology for their customers?…?until now.?In?the engineering?world,?the tape measure?is starting to?be?phased?out?– you?can, almost literally,?measure its?untimely end in the engineering consulting world?with?a tape measure.?

How can such a crucial tool - one that has long been essential for every engineer - suddenly become obsolete? The answer is in 3D?scanning.?3D scanning technology is changing the way modern engineering consulting is done. Now, at this point, some of you have probably stopped reading and scoffed at the idea of 3D scanning replacing old?faithful. Nothing can ever replace the trusty tape measure and human error—I mean,?human eye. How can some blocky 3D image possibly replace a tape measure? Well,?the answer is in the cloud—point cloud,?that is.?

Today’s?3D scanners?produce imagery?far superior to older,?blockier?3D images?by?using?LIDAR?technology?which uses?lasers, reflection, and refraction that provide accuracy in scans up to 1/1000th?of an inch*.?Modern scanners?can map a process exactly as it is in a facility and,?while the scanner is at it, will map out the whole facility, just because it can—and?because?you told it to do so.

How many engineers and even fabricators have run into a situation where they measure for hours upon hours, draw up a process as best they can, design everything according to those drawings and it still just doesn’t quite fit? Countless engineers have fallen into this trap, and we?end up?spending?extra time,?and money,?making field adjustments?or having to back out of a project to redo the entire design just because something didn’t quite add up.

We all know the situations,?too:?the floor isn’t?plumb and square?like we assumed it was;?the supports aren’t actually the same height;?the platforms aren’t actually square with each other;?the list?of?time-, money-, and trust-losing scenarios goes on. With 3D?scanning?and point cloud technology, these variables that you find during installation of your design are no longer unknown. An engineer?can scan an entire process, building, or component, and get any measurement they want from it, all in?a fraction of?the time.?

An engineer can?scan an existing process in a facility and use?the?point cloud scan to get the exact dimensions needed to create an innovation or design that fits in the field. With the point cloud technology,?you can measure the?needed dimensions for an addition to a process,?design the addition in AutoCAD, and install the actual design into the process on the point cloud. You can?show?your design installed in your client’s facility before it is even built (see below).

Above: 3D scanning allowed a new component to be designed in the exact environment in which it would be installed?

A prime example of a company utilizing this technology?to?improve efficiencies?is Chief Engineering in Memphis,?Tenn.?Because of?3D scanning, Chief Engineering can provide?unparalleled designs and concepts?to?clients,?helping it become?one of the Mid-South’s leading engineering firms.?3D?scanning?ensures each design?is?done?quickly and more accurately?than ever before, which shortens the time from discovery?to installation.

The age of the tape measure in the engineering world is reaching its end?and a?new age?is?dawning.?Chief Engineering, and other firms like it, can keep your customers or business on the forefront of this new age. Welcome to the age of 3D scanning. It’s going to be a lot of fun.

Learn more about Chief Engineering 3D scanning services at our website.

This article was written by Dylan Shockey, Project Engineer at Chief Engineering PLLC.