Why Manufacturing Companies Use 3d Scanners To Improve Production

By Author: Julie R. Randall
Total Articles: 4
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Manufacturers and developers must understand the product they’re creating, and 3D scanners make images that can be “seen” – and this process takes just seconds. Creating a visual like this that truly showed all the angles and elements of a prototype could take days or weeks just a few short years ago.

The newer 3D scanners on the market have the technology and power to retrieve data from small objects such as a pencil eraser all the way up to giant buildings. For manufacturers, these instruments instantly show design technicians a plethora of information about a prototype as it moves through the stages of development.

Versatile, easy to use and cost-effective, 3D scanners can be found in many industries other than manufacturing and development. These industries include:

Medical industry. Here, 3D scanners perform imaging of such things as prosthetic and cancerous tumors and provide visuals of the brain and other organs during surgery.
Dental industry. In this capacity, the scanners help designers with the creation of dentures and mouth guards and can even scan cast records.
Fashion ...
... industry. Professionals in the fashion industry use this technology along with software developed for pattern-making to create jeans, dresses and other clothing with custom fits.
Entertainment industry. In the entertainment industry, designers and developers use 3D scanners to create 3D movies and video games.
Art industry. The art industry uses these scanners for many purposes including museum archiving and the reproduction of replicas.

Scanners used in manufacturing range from simple, lightweight, handheld models to large, heavy-duty models. The nature of the job will dictate the type of 3D scanner(s) a manufacturer will use. Two elements, in particular, are primary considerations in determining which type of scanner is the most appropriate and will produce the required results.

Field of view and depth of field. This feature is important when size-accuracy and determining the width of a scanned object is required.

Resolution and accuracy. Important when you need to capture the essence of items scanned dependent on image and usage.

The technology has grown quickly and powerfully. Some of the newest scanners now provide field-oriented robust design with a high accuracy of ±40 μm and a 1.31 million-pixel sensor. A few short years ago, this level of accuracy was unimaginable. One can only guess what’s coming next.

To summarize, 3D scanners bring designers and manufacturing managers into a whole new world with regards to the products they build. With this technology, they can see elements in a prototype design that would be impossible to see – or guess at – using only human means. These scanners have had a massive impact on improving the quality, aesthetics, usability and speed of the design process.

Julie R. Randall is a freelance writer for Konica Minolta, creators of measuring equipment and technology including 3D Scanner & Colorimeter. Interested in finding out more about Konica Minolta? Visit our website sensing.konicaminolta.us today for more information.