FARO S150 - Condensation inside lens

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Megareece24
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FARO S150 - Condensation inside lens

Post by Megareece24 »

Hi all,

During the current cold weather in the UK our Focus S150 Plus has started forming a small amount of condensation on the inside of the lens when moving from a warm (~20C) to a cold environment (~0C) (interior scans to exterior scans), which cannot be cleaned from the outside. When looking at the scans in SCENE the exterior scan data is very noisy and I therefore cannot produce a tight registration. The data in the interior scans are perfect, the noise only appears when the lens starts to fog/mist.

I've just contacted FARO about this problem, but am curious to hear whether anyone else has experienced similar problems when quickly changing scanning environments? Could this be a problem with the scanner itself?

As a newbie who has only recently entered the 3D scanning world, the thousands of threads on this forum has helped massively, so any responses would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Reece
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Re: FARO S150 - Condensation inside lens

Post by blomster »

Hi

I have a FARO S120. The specs working temp is down to +5C. I have had no problem scanning to as low as -5C. But the colder the shorter stints I try to make. I was told to warm it up a few scans before taking it outside for scanning. Then the internal would be warm and you need to keep scanning to keep the temperature. I also turned off the fan. I have not experienced any condensation problems as you describe.
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Leandre Robitaille
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Re: FARO S150 - Condensation inside lens

Post by Leandre Robitaille »

That is why I keep fresh beam bags (you know the ones that absorb humidity that comes with any new electronics) inside all my scanner cases, IT department have tons of those and I switch them out every 1-2months. I've had your issue before, never had it since I've been jamming those beam bags in the scanner case. Also maybe consider turning off ventilation in humid areas you are surveying.

Good luck :)
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Re: FARO S150 - Condensation inside lens

Post by jcoco3 »

Hey! that's not a bad idea :P I work in a swamp and the thought never occurred to put some desiccant in the case. You can buy the little pack of desiccant on amazon or even at hardware stores. "DampRid" and "Moisture Grabbers" are the products available near me. We have never had the issue of this topic, so I suspect there is an issue with the lens seal or other seal on the scanner that has let moisture in. With the creation of the S series line all the "S" Focus scanners have been sealed and test to IP 54. I am not sure how long the optic seals on the scanner are supposed to last or how long they can hold out humidity, but they may have degraded or could be defective. It might be worth calling Faro to speak to them about the issue. If under warranty they should happily repair/replace the seals and re-purge the air inside the optics with dry air. I am assuming that the optics are purged with dry air, nitrogen, or other to eliminate this problem in the first place, but who knows.
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Megareece24
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Re: FARO S150 - Condensation inside lens

Post by Megareece24 »

Hi all,

Just wanted to give an update on the situation. FARO responded mentioning that eventhough the scanner is IP54, it is still possible for moisture to form inside of the scanner (especially when operating outside of the reccommended temperatures) due to the fans/vents that allow cooling.

I kept the scanner close to a radiator over the weekend to hopefully remove any remaining trapped humidity, but as Leandre mentioned, it might be worth looking into the bean bag idea! We've sent the scanner out on a job today, so fingers crossed!

FARO also mentioned that if the problem does keep re-occuring then we can always send it to them for a checkup. But for the time being we'll be using the scanner for smaller/indoor jobs to avoid losing the scanner for a few weeks :lol:

Thanks for your responses!
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Re: FARO S150 - Condensation inside lens

Post by jcoco3 »

Interesting. Thanks for the info, I am sure it will help many of us. You should have asked them if you could bake the moisture out in the oven at low temp or put it in a bag of rice...just kidding :lol:
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