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MINNEAPOLIS, MN -
Laser Design, Inc.
announced that groundbreaking
research is being done at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University (Virginia Tech) Transportation Institute using its technology.
With a Laser Design RE-1208 3D laser scanning system, faculty in the civil
and environmental engineering department, scans roadway materials with the
purpose of improving the quality of our highways. The research is federally
funded by the National Cooperative Highway
Research Program (NCHRP) which was created in 1962 to conduct research in
acute problem areas that affect highway planning, design, construction,
operation, and maintenance nationwide, through state departments of
transportation. |
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With expertise in
simulative pavement testing and mechanistic pavement design, the civil and
environmental engineering department developed imaging techniques with the
Laser Design scanning system to use on roadbed materials. The 3D surface of
aggregates are scanned to identify their properties, such as texture, shape,
and surface characteristics. The scan data add to the NCHRP’s knowledge of
how to build better, more stable roads. The mechanics of asphalt concrete,
an important infrastructure material for pavements, is a fundamental tool
for understanding its complicated behavior. New materials are compared to
materials after they have been in service to determine how use breaks down
their structure.
C. Martin Schuster,
President of Laser Design, noted, “Laser Design’s non-contact laser scanning
systems are ideal for scanning these small roadway particles. They are
irregularly shaped, so using a touch probe does not yield the highly
accurate and complete data that our RE-1208 laser scanning system creates.
Comparisons between the ‘before and after’ particles are simplified with the
Geomagic software program we supply with the system.”
Research findings are published as quickly as possible in NCHRP reports to
keep transportation administrators and practicing engineers on the cutting
edge of research in the field. For years at the forefront of
transportation research, the Virginia Tech Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering was recently ranked by the U. S. News and World
Report survey in the top 15 of accredited civil engineering departments in
the United States.
Although research currently
centers around determining the characteristics of aggregates used in roadway
construction, the department is looking for other opportunities to use the
Laser Design non-contact scanning system to further research in the area of
transportation engineering. “Non-contact laser scanning is perfect for many
academic applications,” said Schuster. “We have laser scanners in major
universities worldwide being used to teach engineering and manufacturing
courses, for medical research projects, and for 3D scanning of archeological
and anthropological artifacts. Our technology excels at creating models of
intricate shapes for analysis and reverse engineering.”
Laser Design, Inc. has been the leading supplier of
ultra-precise, 3D laser scanning systems and services since 1987. Used for
capturing the 3D shape of objects with complex geometries and free-form
surfaces, Laser Design’s Surveyor line of automated and portable scanning
systems are ideal for 3D scanning applications involving inspection and
reverse engineering of complex shaped plastic and metal parts. The
company’s patented laser line-probe technology dramatically reduces scanning
time by collecting data substantially faster and more accurately than
conventional metrology technologies. Laser
Design also operates GKS Inspection Services (www.gks3d.com),
an in-house service division offering complete 3D scanning, modeling, and
dimensional measurement services. Headquartered in Minneapolis, the company
also has an R&D lab in Seattle, a regional office in Detroit, and
distributors throughout Europe and Asia. Laser Design integrates Geomagic
software with its laser scanners to provide complete solutions for reverse
engineering and inspection applications.
For further information,
contact Marty Schuster, by phone (952-884-9648, ext. 202), fax
(952-884-9653), via email to
sales@laserdesign.com
or visit Laser Design’s web site at
http://www.laserdesign.com.
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