Exact Metrology: Choosing The Right Industrial 3D Scanner For My Industry

If you have decided to purchase an industrial 3D scanner, you may be wondering how to choose the correct one for your industry and intended applications. There are several factors that should be considered when choosing hardware for industrial 3D scanning. The three most relevant of these factors are cost, accuracy, and working volume. It is helpful to know right away that cost and accuracy capabilities are roughly correlated, meaning that a piece of scanning equipment that is high in cost will generally have higher accuracy. However, to complicate things, as working volume increases, accuracy may decrease. Striking a balance between these complicated components is what makes choosing the right scanner a challenge. Below, we explore each of these components in more detail to help you understand the best approach to choosing an industrial 3D scanner that is right for your industry. 

Keep Your Industry & Purposes In Mind

First, keep your industry and overall goals firmly in mind when undertaking the assessment of 3D scanners for industrial purposes. After all, what you use a 3D scanner for in one industry will not necessarily overlap with what you might use it for in another. For example, in the aerospace and automotive industries, scanning technology is often used to inspect equipment and technology for flaws that could prove costly and dangerous if left unattended. These flaws can range from microscopic to the overall construction. On the other hand, scanning is often used primarily for archival purposes in art and excavation fields, not necessarily for immediate reproduction or inspection of an item.  

Some Questions To Consider

Am I intending to locate minute cracks in a piece of technology during an inspection? Am I going to use 3D scanning technology to develop new products and medical devices, such as prosthetics? Am I going to use it for assembly purposes? Or, am I primarily attempting to archive schematics of component parts and equipment? 

Assess Your Average Volume Need

One of the most important things to consider when choosing the right 3D scanning hardware is your average scanning need in terms of size. For example, if you are making a purchase for your manufacturing business that calls for different part sizes, choose the average volume size so you will get the most and best use out of your scanning equipment. Avoid catering your hardware choice to the rare need to scan a significantly large or small part. 

One of the reasons to avoid making your hardware decision based on outlier needs is the increasing simplicity of adaptation when it comes to scanning technology. Much of the hardware available in the current marketplace does support leapfrogging or expanding working volume. Often, all it takes is some planning and physical references such as common spheres and conical nests.  

Determine Your Accuracy Requirements

In addition to assessing your average volume need, you will also want to determine your accuracy requirements in order to choose the right industrial 3D scanner for your industry. Similarly to volume requirements, you should choose hardware that satisfies your needs most of the time, not necessarily all of them. Take time to evaluate what hardware will meet about 90% of your accuracy requirements. 

You can expect a heftier price tag for the higher-quality optics, sensors, and encoders needed to produce higher accuracy. However, while the cost-to-accuracy scale is positively correlated, it may not always be worth forking out more money for more accuracy when it comes to marginal increases. Indeed, beyond a certain point, the scale of accuracy capability comes down to fractions of an inch which can significantly shift the price point. Be sure you make these choices based on your actual industrial needs.    

Exact Metrology Has The Right Industrial 3D Scanner And More!

Exact Metrology is a certified metrology equipment provider. But, in addition to providing you with the equipment you need for your industrial purposes, we also pride ourselves on educating our customers about the many advantages of 3D scanning, the most important questions to ask when looking to purchase 3D technology, and more. We encourage you to learn more about the ways that an industrial 3D scanner can support your business so you can get the full benefits of incorporating one.

This content was first published on the Exact Metrology website.