White light scanning is a 3D digitizing technology that measures the physical characteristics
of an object with an optical measuring system.
Also referred to as white light digitizing by many, 3D white light scanning is the
most accurate process for taking the dimensional measurements of an object and then
modeling in 3D digitally. Other benefits include minimal setup and that it is a form
of non-contact scanning.
Through the scanning of a physical part, 3D scan data is compared directly with the
nominal CAD model to verify that the finished part or tooling conforms to the original
design intent. Alternately, two sets of point cloud scan data can be compared with
each other during the manufacturing process to assure parts stay in spec. Scan data
can also be analyzed with a program called Spec-Chek ( From CGI, Inc) to compare
callouts from a 2D print and output into a spreadsheet showing the in spec and out
of spec features.
Digital Modeling is the process of creating a computer model of an object that exactly
replicates the form of the object. Laser scanners are used to capture the 3D data
of the object, and then this data is transferred to the computer where it is aligned
and edited and finalized as a complete 3D model. First Article uses Imageware, GeoMagic
and SolidWorks to build your models. Outputs can be STL, Iges, Stp or SolidWorks,
even Pro-E, depending on the customers’ specifications.
