Faro x130 temperature issue

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mcosic
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Faro x130 temperature issue

Post by mcosic »

hi guys

first post here, and asking for help/advice already...hope You can help out

we have two scanners in the office x330 and x130. i was in PNG last week and x130 stuffed up on us, the screen doesn't want to turn on and the LED above the screen is not flashing.

i was doing the outdoor scans with both scanners, and at the end of the scan x130 came up with 'scanner has reached critical temperature, you can continue scanning but it is recommended that the scanner cools off' warning, at which point i shut the scanner down through the menu and put it in the shade. Outdoor temp was around 32 degrees Celsius, on the sun and the scanner got pretty hot (the pea size fan was working overtime, not that it helped, and neither did having dark gray casing that soaked up even more heat).

Scanner's critical temp is 60 degrees C's.

x330 fared a bit better, it was hitting 55-59 degrees C's and i was turning it off and waited to cool it down every 2-3 scans, and it was massive drawback in regards to time and reliability of the scanners (cooling fan was on as well)

in a month we have another 12 sites to scan and heat and humidity will be even worse due to tropics.

In Australia we dont have an official FARO service office, but its in Singapore, where we should send it to have it checked out.

im wondering if anyone has had experience with using those scanners in hot climates, how/what is the best way to keep them cool, so i guess the tips /procedures would be appreciated, as well as would it mean that the scanner is stuffed and/or fried.

Also, is there a possibility to somehow enable WiFi on the scanner as it works and scans, but the screen is dead.

any ideas, suggestion, tips, advice would be greatly appreciated.

very kind regards

Mili
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Re: Faro x130 temperature issue

Post by PrecisionTech »

To my knowledge this IS NOT approved by Faro, however, when dealing with very hot climates and scans, I actually build my scanner a "vest" that would hold very small ice packs (and would hold hot packs for cold weather scans). With the cold packs you have to make sure you are keeping the moisture off of the scanner because they are going to want to "sweat" really bad, especially if humidity is high. Aside from that I've heard of people using umbrellas to keep the direct sunlight off. As a side note I've noticed it really does vary scanner to scanner how sensitive they are to the heat/cold, you can send it in to have it checked out, but it could just be as you stated that the gray is absorbing the heat too much.

You should be able to turn on wifi through the general settings and connect via smart phone, I use FlashFox on my Android phone, it works good.

Hope that helps!
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Re: Faro x130 temperature issue

Post by mcosic »

Thank You so much for your reply, i really appriciate that.

I thought of building some form of casing around it (acrylic or aluminum, with 15-20mm gap and add fan on it to provide a shield from direct sunlight+add extra airflow and cooling...

im not too worried what faro will say, so far they have been simply and utterly useless, granted, they were more than happy to offer the $7000 price tag to send the scanner to HK (AUS doesn't have office here, just a re-seller)

without myself not complimenting faro people on their help and assistance and good product testing (or lack there-off), i would sincerely like to thank you once more for your reply, being the only one as well.

As for the WiFi, i cannot get to general settings as the screen is dead...so i cannot see the menu or the options...hence i thought to bypass it somehow...but atm, we are in the process it insurance claim so if all goes well, and we get the new one, ill pull apart the old one and have a bit of a play with it...
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Re: Faro x130 temperature issue

Post by Andrej »

Hi

welcome to the Forum.

Faro Scanner are known that they have problems with heat. Direct sun light will heat the instrument up to much and you need to wait until it cools down which is normally around the 10min to do the next scan. You may can come up with some sort of self build cooling system or you use a Z&F scanner like the 5010c which works fine in heat. We are using the 5010(no inbuilt camera) in QLD summer and never had a failing problem due to heat.

Andrej
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Re: Faro x130 temperature issue

Post by richard_m »

Andrej wrote:never had a failing problem due to heat.
In my experience working in heat is one of the most difficult issues with laser scanners. I think the Focus is rated -5deg to +40deg (but pls check) so you should be ok at 32, wondering if the heat exacerbated a pre-exiting problem, either way it sounds expensive. With all scanners I find that even if they don't stop working they go badly out of calibration and stay that way until they've seen the inside of a calibration facility.

We run a fleet of z+f's and I agree they never stop working, however, run them in conditions over, for instance, 35deg and it is absolutely imperative that the calibration is checked for collimation errors as they quickly and quietly go off calibration without any warning. At least the Faro warns you..

For the check I use the "SystemCheck" fuction in all versions of LaserControl and I find it does a decent job but you can also check the collimation in other ways or just keep a very close eye on the 2deg horizontal overlap in the scanner start/stop position.

If anyone markets an ice-pack type cooling jacket I'm sure we would want one and I know our offices in the Gulf would be also interested.

Good luck,

Richard
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Re: Faro x130 temperature issue

Post by PrecisionTech »

mcosic wrote: As for the WiFi, i cannot get to general settings as the screen is dead...so i cannot see the menu or the options...hence i thought to bypass it somehow...
I apologize, I misunderstood, and that is a setting that you have to turn on every time you start the scanner. The only other option (that I haven't personally worked with) is a wired connection and control it through Scene.
As the one guy said you can try a different Z&F scanner, however I've experienced troubles with every brand I use, the most reliable, easiest to use and best customer service for me being with Faro, it's all on personal experience. Good luck!
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Re: Faro x130 temperature issue

Post by ddustin »

Mili,
Welcome to the forum.
We actually created and tested a "cool jacket".
In our testing (Georgia), it worked great, but in Arizona it did not do as well.
We considered marketing them and sent prototypes to Faro for testing but I don't know what ever happened to them.
The development was done before the X330 came out.
Once the X330 was released, we have never had our scanners overheat so we stopped development.

I know of someone else working on a solution but I'll let him reply as to not steal his thunder.

Regarding Faro support... While I'm not a Faro employee, I'm sorry you have had less than desirable service from them. Here in the US, it has been pretty good and we have gotten scanners shipped to us overnight.
We do have a long standing relationship with the company so that may have an impact.

Hopefully Faro will open a service center in Australia.
I know some of the management in the Singapore office, and will email them to see if they have a solution for you.
Best regards,
David
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Re: Faro x130 temperature issue

Post by wgrimes »

We are actively working on a solution. We have a prototype that is being tested.

We are in Arizona....it is HOT during the summer. We frequently scan roadways when it is between 105 and 110 degrees F.

Sun IS an issue. If at all possible provide shade for the scanner, this helps, but is not enough. Make sure that the shade will not cause a problem....will not blow off and hit something or will not tip the scanner and tripod over.... BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!!!!

I am also working to see how much heat the scanners can take before we see a significant accuracy drop. Will get back to this group when we have some more to discuss.

Wes
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Re: Faro x130 temperature issue

Post by mcosic »

I have had a chat with one of the guys i know, he did suggest using a racing car heat shield (reflective one side, possible to get one with adhesive on another) as they used them in foot wells of the V8 Supercars to prevent the exhaust temperatures burning driver's feet...

I will test that theory as well...he did recommend having a couple of mm gap if possible and maybe a little fan to increase the air flow over the scanner...

Either way, thanks so much for your advises and replies...will keep you posted...
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Re: Faro x130 temperature issue

Post by Jamesyoung »

Hello,

I am on the opposite end in Michigan but am warned after some time in cold weather (10-15 F).

On the X130, I am having the same issue with the screen and the lights not activating. It is being sent into service tomorrow. It happened intermittently but now the screen will not light at all.

Good luck!

Jim
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