advice to scan small parts with high precision?

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dpaj
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advice to scan small parts with high precision?

Post by dpaj »

Hello;

Brand new to this forum and I am a beginner to laser scanning. My company has a Faro ScanArm that I used to scan some small parts (<4" on a side) to reverse engineer to high precision (0.1 mm or better, still learning what we need and what is possible). Then used the Geomagic wrap to get some models, to then CAD solutions with SolidWorks.

I am wondering if anyone can provide some advice on two points:
1) The Faro ScanArms we used seem like they are designed for larger parts. I haven't had much luck getting a good idea of a potentially better scanning solution for the small volume, high precision work I am interested in. I spoke with reps at Leica's metrology and they didn't seem to have anything. One example I found doing internet searches is:
https://matterandform.net/scanner
I could spend more than that if it meant a better scanner. Any advice?

2) Geomagic is quite expensive, which is fine if that is the only way. Is there a cheaper competitor? We used the Geomagic software to clean up the scans, and then apply a regression algorithm for inputting into SolidWorks.

Thanks!
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Re: advice to scan small parts with high precision?

Post by JSenior »

The Faro should be plenty good enough for 4” large parts to 0.1mm accuracy/resolution. If you can share one of your Wrap files I don’t mind taking a look to see what might be going wrong.
It’s likely either your settings or your technique which are off.
For technique press the green button at the start and finish of every scan pass you make in a straight line (don’t wave it around everywhere) and try to be steady and consistent in your pace.
For reverse engineering settings, under Capture > Scan I’d recommend you use ordered data for Reverse Engineering work. If you send a screenshot of your other settings I might be able to suggest a few other things to change.

If all of your scans are of small parts you may be better with a white light scanner and a turntable but you’ll be spending over $10,000 for something which will do similar quality scans. You’ll also lose the ability to combine use of the probe. The matter and form scanner wouldn’t be suitable.

Software Geomagic is probably the simplest for scanning into and mesh prep. Solidworks isn’t particularly scan-friendly however.
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Re: advice to scan small parts with high precision?

Post by dpaj »

Thanks for the feedback. You mentioned that for >$10K there is something more suitable than the matter-and-form scanner? Any particular lead you could point me towards?

I think the Faro may actually have been good enough for what I need, but I am just curious about what else is out there. My company is quite big, so I am using a scanner in a different division, am investigating making a small capital investment to have one under my own auspices. The Faro ScanArm seems engineered for dealing with big stuff, so maybe something engineered for dealing with small stuff could provide a more streamlined scanning process if I am trying to do this on a semi-regular basis.

Do you have any reference that describes plus/minus of white-light scanner versus laser scanner?

I tried to attach the wrp file, but got hit with an 'invalid extension' error.
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Re: advice to scan small parts with high precision?

Post by ScottErnst »

You might look at the Artec Space Spider.
dpaj
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Re: advice to scan small parts with high precision?

Post by dpaj »

Thank you, maybe this Artec Space Spider is useful, but it is again a hand-held version.

Naively, I am thinking that a turn-table might be better for operator-ease/reproducibility. Is this your opinion that turn-table-fixed-source-position is easier for the operator and streamlining that the hand-held?
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Re: advice to scan small parts with high precision?

Post by JeffT »

I use the Artec products a lot. A turntable is very useful for Spider or Eva scanning. Not required, but makes things faster and easier. We just use a lazy susan you can buy at any home store.
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Re: advice to scan small parts with high precision?

Post by JSenior »

dpaj wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 6:40 pm Thanks for the feedback. You mentioned that for >$10K there is something more suitable than the matter-and-form scanner? Any particular lead you could point me towards?

I think the Faro may actually have been good enough for what I need, but I am just curious about what else is out there. My company is quite big, so I am using a scanner in a different division, am investigating making a small capital investment to have one under my own auspices. The Faro ScanArm seems engineered for dealing with big stuff, so maybe something engineered for dealing with small stuff could provide a more streamlined scanning process if I am trying to do this on a semi-regular basis.

Do you have any reference that describes plus/minus of white-light scanner versus laser scanner?

I tried to attach the wrp file, but got hit with an 'invalid extension' error.
What generation of scanarm are you using? With the latest two (v5 and v6) you should be able to scan your fingerprints. The data should be good enough for the vast majority of reverse engineering jobs.

It's best to upload the Wrap file to a file sharing site (dropbox/Google Drive) or send via www.wetransfer.com
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