Editor's Pick: Dual Probes Speed Laser Scanning

By Anthony J. Lockwood

Dear Desktop Engineering Reader:

FARO Technologies has been doing articulated arms, measuring equipment and software for inspection, point cloud to model comparisons, rapid prototyping, reverse engineering, and 3D modeling applications for awhile now. And one of the things that they've always done well is listen to the users and come through for you. A great example of this is the ScanArm V3.

ScanArm V3 offers you hard probes and laser-line probes in a single unit. What this means is that you can get your work done faster because you have the right probe for the scan right there. No  ripping out cables and hooking up a new component. Speaking of faster, the ScanArm's lasers can scan up to 19,200 points per second, so it's not wasting your time grabbing the data either.

The ScanArm V3 has an integrated seventh axis and requires no external electronics and fixtures. Its “Auto Materials” featuresmakes scanning dark and reflective surfaces easier by continuously sampling the object’s surface and automatically adjusting for optimal scanning. In its Quantum articulated arm series version, the ScanArm V3 supports Bluetooth wireless operations, letting you scan without cables or interface boxes up to 30 ft. away from your computer. Imagine that. No more balancing your notebook on an upturned waste basket every time you want to scan something in.

The ScanArm is compatible with major reverse engineering, point-cloud manipulation, and digital sampling software such as Geomagic, PolyWorks, and Rapidform, so you do not have to go through a huge learning curve figuring out some new application. And, one last thing. If you're familiar with earlier versions of the ScanArm, you'll be glad to know that it is more accurate, smaller, and it weighs about 30 percent less, not that V2 was suspect by any shake of the imagination in that regard.

Anyway, as I said, FARO listens to users. Cables everywhere, swapping in probes, your notebook on the floor with a cable running over to the scanner tangling up around your feet. Those are productivity suckers that you learned to live with because there was no way around them. FARO listened to your kvetching, and now you have the ScanArm V3, which gets rid of the headaches. And for good measure, it adds a seventh axis for greater scanning flexibility so you don't pull a muscle trying to scan in hard to reach places.

Check out FARO's ScanArm V3 from today's Pick of the Week write-up. Download the spec sheet for all the details. There's a link to a video of the entire FARO product line that you'll want to check out as well. ScanArm is toward the end. ScanArm V3 is a pretty neat device. It demonstrates a responsiveness to solving those productivity issues that have driven you nuts so long that you never thought they'd go away. I recommend that you learn more about ScanArm V3..

Thanks, Pal. -- Lockwood

Anthony J. Lockwood
Editor at Large, Desktop Engineering Magazine

Read today's Pick of the Week