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3D laser scanning offers tremendous time savings and cost benefits for the metal fabricating and sheet metal forming industry. Most importantly, it provides the ability to reverse engineer and inspect complex parts, assemblies and tooling to a higher level of accuracy and in a shorter period of time than with other methods.

A CMM based Laser Scanning system represents a complicated measurement tool, whose accuracy and repeatability can be difficult to gage, especially when you add a 4th axis and ball matching to the mix. In the past, system accuracy was estimated by simply adding the CMM machine accuracy to the stated laser probe accuracy...

A solution to the worn tooth conundrum in primate functional anatomy. Department of Anthropology- University of Arkansas

Laser scanners capture thousands of points every second, drastically improving reverse engineering and inspection speed and accuracy. As a result, many companies are either replacing their Coordinate Measurement Machines (CMMs) with laser scanners or purchasing laser scanners instead of CMMs as they expand their operations. But other companies are looking at the large investments they have made in their existing CMMs and asking if they can be preserved or enhanced by equipping them with a laser probe.

The laser probes collect dimensional data in their own reference frame, and in their own field of view which is typically small compared to the objects being digitized. For these reasons, the probes are usually connected to some kind of motion control system, to move the probe over the part, or the part under the probe, and the two reference frames must be coordinated. This document discusses the interfacing issues when attaching an LDI laser probe to a motion transport, such as a CMM or CNC.

A wide range of moldmakers are adopting the emerging technology of 3D Laser Scanning in order to improve the accuracy and substantially reduce the time and cost of reverse engineering and inspection tasks. 3D Laser Scanners capture up to 50,000 coordinate points every second, drastically improving reverse engineering and inspection speed and accuracy. Using a laser scanner instead of a touch probe based digitizer or touch probe scanning device mounted on a machining center or CMM (Coordinate Measuring Machine) for reverse engineering / inspection can help a mold builder attract new business and therefore increase the proportion of time that these machines can be utilized for their intended purpose. Laser scanners also can dramatically reduce first article inspection costs for injection molded parts by graphically presenting on a screen exactly how the entire shape of the first article part compares to the design intent (CAD model).

At Laser Design, laser scanning technology has been adapted for a variety of high-tech solutions to common challenges faced by manufacturing companies around the world. How does Laser Scanning work? What does Laser Scanning do? What is the future of Laser Scanning?